The Baghdad Conference for Co-operation and Partnership conference, scheduled for Tuesday at the Dead Sea, will bring together key European and Middle Eastern leaders, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, to discuss security in Jordan and the Middle East.
Enhanced regional security is the goal of the conference, which seeks to affirm Iraq’s independence, protection, and prosperity.
The first sessions of the event were held in Baghdad last August. Representatives from a number of countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Iran, will participate in the conference.
Macron said on Thursday that he would attend the conference, in response to a question from a reporter on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels.
Arab and EU ambassadors will be among the participants in the inaugural session, along with the kingdom’s 20G and Security Council permanent members.
Turkey and Iran have both been issued an invitation by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
Iran’s foreign minister said on Monday that the summit would provide a good opportunity for negotiations to restore the country’s nuclear agreement. Iran and the six world powers—Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia—started an Iran nuclear deal restoration effort in April, as well as the US.
However, the indirect talks between Washington and Tehran, mediated by the EU, have stalled for several months, and Iran is currently facing protests over the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish descent.
Iran’s top diplomat, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said in Tehran that Jordan is the right setting to finish these talks.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, and Mr Amir-Abdollahian are expected to attend.
The talks come amid heightened security tensions in Jordan following recent fuel protests after a policeman was shot dead over the weekend.
Image Credit: AFP
