Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry congratulated Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi in Baghdad on Wednesday, for freeing the historic city of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS), expressing Egypt’s readiness for supporting Iraq to restore stability and security, according to a statement.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ahmed Abou Zaid said that the two sides discussed in details the bilateral relations between the two countries, and Al-Abadi stressed the strength and deepness of Egyptian-Iraqi relations, hoping to boosting the bilateral relation in all fields and the high common committee, which will gather the prime ministers of the two countries in August in Baghdad.
Shoukry praised the historic relations between the two countries, pointing out that this visit comes as part of implementing President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s orders to increase communication with Iraq in all fields in this important phase. He also pointed out to Egypt’s manoeuvrers to bring Iraq back to the Arab world and to revive its significant role, which will boost Arab abilities to face challenges, terrorism, and regional interventions, the statement read.
Also, Shoukry praised Al-Abadi’s efforts to achieve a real nationalism reconciliation and supporting the Iraqi institutions to safe Iraq’s sovereignty and unity. Al-Abadi asserted that the victory in the Mosul battle comes in the frame of his responsibility for Iraq’s security and stability, pointing out the importance of eliminating the IS from Syria to restore stability and security in the region.
The two sides discussed the impacts of Turkish intervenes in the region, the developments of the Qatari crisis, and reasons for the crisis. Shoukry and Al-Abadi called upon the international community to take responsibility for confronting terrorism and extremism, and its sources of finance. Shoukry asserted the role of Al-Azhar and religious institutions in Iraq in renewing the religious righteous.
The Egyptian minister also met with Iraqi President Fouad Masoum, the speaker of the Iraqi parliament Salim Al Jubouri, and with Iraqi Minister for Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Al Jaafari.
On 10 July, Al-Abadi declared victory over the IS in Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, after a huge military operation. Mosul fell to the IS in June 2014, when the IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi proclaimed the creation of a “caliphate state”. Throughout one year, the organisation rapidly expanded its territory over Iraq and Syria, but it started to loose lands after the United States and its allies started striking sites of the organisation, pushing it back.
Losing Mosul ends the organisation’s presence in its biggest city in Iraq and will affect its battle in Syria. The military operation against the IS included more than 300,000 troops from Iraqi national army, Peshmerga fighters of Kurdistan, and Shiaa militias “the Popular Mobilization Forces”, all of which were supported by air strikes from a US-led coalition and Turkish forces—despite Iraqi government opposition. The battle resulted in 1.05 million displacements, according to the international organisation for migration in a report on Saturday.
