Baghdad Conference: Full Text of President Sisi's Speech

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi gave a speech during his participation in Baghdad Conference held on Saturday in the Iraqi capital.

Here is the full text of his speech:

My brother, Honorable Prime Minister, Mr. Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Prime Minister of the brotherly Republic of Iraq

Your Majesties, Excellencies and Highnesses, Kings, Presidents, and Princes of brotherly and friendly countries,

I have the honor to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to  Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi for his initiative to call for this important conference. It gives me great pleasure to be today again in Iraq, Mesopotamia, one of the forts of Arabism and the centers of civilization in the Arab and Islamic worlds which embodies the unparalleled level and the precedent of the partnership relations with our Iraqi brothers, and the sincere desire to launch a new phase of constructive cooperation through effective and multiple mechanisms, whether at the bilateral or tripartite Egyptian-Iraqi-Jordanian levels, or in the broader regional framework.

Together we can move towards broader horizons of partnership and cooperation in a way that It meets the aspirations and interests of our peoples, based on strong and extended relations and ties based on solid principles, from which we do not deviate to achieve mutual interests and maintain the security and stability of the entire region.

Your Majesties, Excellencies, Highnesses and Excellencies,

Over the past years, Iraq, along with other Arab countries and peoples, has faced the very negative effects of terrorism and wars that have brought suffering to a brotherly people and have repercussions on neighboring peoples in a context that has witnessed various external interventions, at a time when our world is facing challenges of a global nature that concern the peoples of all mankind.

When we see the horrors that the Coronavirus or climate change inflicts on the world and the threat it may pose to future generations, we must unite in facing what threatens the future of our youth by adopting real development policies that preserve our planet and our environment.

The peoples of the world around us are closely studying these global challenges and are striving to find solutions to them on scientific grounds, and it is correct in this context that we have a clear contribution to the progress of mankind towards strengthening its capabilities to confront reality, which we believe in Egypt that there is no salvation for us without it. I see in the brothers in Iraq the determination that encourages us to join hands with them in order to achieve lofty goals and universal human aspirations.

Gentlemen,

Egypt views with great appreciation the important achievements made in Iraq during the last period under the leadership of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, which allowed the success of state institutions in optimal handling of the major challenges facing the Iraqi people, as the army and security services managed to defeat terrorism, and eliminate the project the obscurantist ISIS in the region, and the preservation of the unity, security and national fabric of Iraq.

Addressing the achievements is not complete without addressing the efforts to achieve economic reform at all levels and in various sectors, which reflects the insistence of the Iraqi government to pave the way for a qualitative shift that we feel is imminent through our follow-up to the tireless efforts in careful preparation for it.

We are confident in Iraq's complete success in fulfilling the upcoming elections in a way that meets the aspirations of the Iraqi people to advance at a steady pace towards the future they deserve.

From this standpoint, Egypt continues to support and back the Iraqi government in all its efforts aimed at achieving stability in Iraq, restoring its historical status, its effective Arab and regional role, and consolidating its position in the Arab world.

We believe in the inevitability of cooperation and solidarity between brothers and its multiple benefits.

The tripartite cooperation mechanism between Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan seeks to translate the political will of the three countries into a tangible reality in terms of promoting the concept of joint Arab action and maximizing the intertwining between the interests of our peoples through practical and studied paths of cooperation that the Iraqi citizen feels. and his Jordanian and Egyptian brothers.

We hope that this will expand when the appropriate conditions are available to all the Arab peoples and all the peoples of the region.

On this occasion, I reiterate our determination to move forward with perseverance towards implementing the joint projects that are being studied within the framework of the mechanism in order to achieve the aspired development of our countries.

Your Majesties, Excellencies, Highnesses and Excellencies,

Egypt stands by and supports the efforts of the Iraqi government towards strengthening the national state and its institutions so that it can carry out its tasks in maintaining the security and stability of Iraq and protecting the capabilities of its people and its territorial integrity.

Hence, our meeting today comes to renew support and commitment to the established principles in international relations, which are undisputed, which are good neighborliness, non-aggression, mutual respect for the sovereignty of states, unconditional refraining from interfering in their internal affairs, and stopping the policy of imposing a fait accompli using military force.

This meeting represents an opportunity that should be built upon to exchange views, consult, and explore prospects for coordination between us in light of the successive international and regional developments, which require constructive cooperation to confront today’s crises from the perspective of the reality we live in, and not following illegal aspirations that clash with the rules of international law and do not respect the will and choices of peoples and their political right to self-determination.

Your Majesties, Excellencies, Highnesses and Excellencies,

In concluding my speech, I cannot but renew my thanks to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi for convening this conference.

I would also like to send a message to the brotherly Iraqi people, saying that the people who own this civilization and this honorable history have undoubtedly a promising future thanks to their children and their arms and the hope and motivation towards achieving a better tomorrow.

I assure you that you have brothers in Egypt who are keen on your renaissance, welcome to transfer their experience and expertise in various fields, believing in the unity of destiny and goal to walk together on the path of the future that is lit by our will and our confidence in our solid ability to overcome any difficulties.

Thank you.