Washington supports the electrical connection between Iraq and the Gulf states … and Baghdad promises to open the Arar outlet

Washington supports the electrical connection between Iraq and the Gulf states … and Baghdad promises to open the Arar outlet

18/7/2020 12:00

Washington supports the electrical connection between Iraq and the Gulf states ... and Baghdad promises to open the Arar outlet[Baghdad_Eye]
The United States announced full support for a project linking electricity networks between the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iraq. In a statement yesterday, the US State Department said it was “committed to facilitating this project and providing support when needed.”
According to the statement, “This project will provide the electric power to the Iraqis who need it most.”
The statement added that “the project will enable the Iraqi economic wheel to be pushed and support economic development, especially in the southern governorates.”
The statement continued that “the government of Iraq, the Gulf Cooperation Council and the United States are looking to increase close economic and energy cooperation between them, as a basis for peace, development and prosperity in the region.”
In turn, Robert Brice, the American researcher in energy and electricity affairs, said that the Iraqi-Gulf electricity connection has long been called by Washington in order to stop the flow of Iraqi money to Iran because of the electrical support agreement that Tehran provides to Iraq.
Press explained in an article published by the electronic newspaper “The Hill” that the reason for the poor electricity in Iraq dates back to 1991 after the “Desert Storm” operation, as the American forces hit that period the Iraqi electricity network because of the entry of the former Saddam Hussein regime to Kuwait, what He called on the countries of the region to ally with the United States in his defeat and the liberation of Kuwait, but the previous era struggled to produce enough electricity to meet the demand.
The American statement comes at a time when preparations are being made in Baghdad for a visit that Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi will make to Saudi Arabia soon, which will also lead him to both Iran and the United States, according to what the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ali Abdul-Amir Allawi announced.
In the same direction, the Iraqi Minister of Transport Nasser Al-Shibli announced his ministry’s endeavor to accelerate the reopening of the Arar border crossing with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and increase trade and economic exchange between the two countries. A statement of the Ministry of Transport said, on the sidelines of the minister’s presiding over a meeting of the Transportation Committee, border ports and ports emanating from the Iraqi-Saudi Coordination Committee, that the importance of Iraq’s openness to the world in general, and neighboring countries in particular, was discussed to strengthen relations and open up prospects for cooperation in all transport, whether Land, sea or air transport, to activate trade and revitalize the Iraqi economic side.
The importance of serious and continuous work during the coming period was emphasized, and the adoption of a new work mechanism to accelerate the opening of the Arar border crossing between Iraq and Saudi Arabia. The Iraqi minister also stressed “the necessity to create the basic requirements for the work of ports, railways, and land transport through border crossings with Saudi Arabia, which will represent a link in various fields, and receive economic benefit for both sides.”
The Minister of Transport indicated that “the Ministry, with its formations, will take an important role in this committee, as it is the Iraqi national carrier.”
In the context of the visit that Al-Kazemi intends to take to Saudi Arabia and other countries, including Iran and the United States, according to Al-Sharq al-Awsat, Iraqi parliamentarian Aras Habib Karim says that “any step that would place Iraq’s relations with its regional surroundings should be viewed positively.” The international is in its rightful place, indicating that “the time has come to correct the path that governs Iraq’s relations with other countries, by putting the interest of Iraq first in dealing with all brothers and friends, whether they are Arabs, Muslims or other countries.”
For his part, professor of political science and head of the Center for Political Thinking in Iraq, Ihssan Al-Shammari said that “Al-Kazemi’s visit to the three capitals represents a balance visit in Iraq’s external relations, and the directions of Al-Kazemi who wants to send messages to these three capitals that Iraq stands at the same distance, and has relations Balanced with it. ”
He added that “Al-Kazemi will pay according to the nature of the type of relationship with these countries joint files; but the most prominent file that will be presented to Iraq remains that there should be an understanding of the sensitivity of Iraq and its internal situation, and the possibility of distancing Iraq from the US-Iranian conflict.”
Al-Shammari said that “Iraq is trying to impose more internal stability and try to neutralize this conflict between Washington and Tehran from the Iraqi interior.”
Al-Shammari said that “Al-Kazemi during this visit will present himself as a successful mediator, that he can play a more role than the carrier of messages; especially that he has positive relations with Riyadh and Washington, and to some extent Iran, in terms of opening the doors of dialogue with these three countries.”
And regarding the results that the visit can produce, Al-Shammari says that «each of these countries has a different characteristic that will be reflected on the nature of the results that will follow. Especially if we look at the nature of the files, which differ from one country to another »; He explained that «the most important file in Washington, for example, is the strategic framework agreement, the completion of the dialogue between Baghdad and Washington and the presence of American forces, and the possibility of American support to Iraq in various fields, and in connection with Saudi Arabia, the focus will be on the economic side; Especially that Riyadh is an important economic center in the region, and therefore I expect that it will come out with important agreements with the Kingdom in various fields and fields; Especially in light of Saudi Arabia’s openness to the Al-Kazemi government. ”
Regarding the expected results of his visit to Iran, Al-Shammari says that Al-Kazemi will try to give a message to Iran that he is not an American. It will stand in the middle. ”
A virtual meeting was held, which gathered representatives of the governments of Iraq and the United States, and the Gulf Cooperation Council, on Thursday, dealing with the progress of work on the electrical interconnection project between the Gulf electricity network and the electricity network in southern Iraq, and the future steps for its implementation. .
The meeting, which witnessed the participation of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council and officials in a number of American government sectors within the framework of the strategic partnership between the Cooperation Council and the United States, discussed the progress of the pledges made at the International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq, which was held in the State of Kuwait in 2018 and the need To create the conditions for their implementation.
Dr. Abdulaziz Hamad Al-Aweishq, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Negotiations in the Cooperation Council, explained that the meeting was held in implementation of the memorandum of understanding signed in April 2019 between the General Secretariat and the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the joint work plan (2019-2024) that was agreed upon. It has to strengthen cooperation with brotherly Iraq in all fields.

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