Iraq – Meeting between Jean-Yves Le Drian and Fuad Hussein, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (Sept. 18)

Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, received his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein, today.

He underscored France’s determination to continue the fight against Daesh alongside its Iraqi partners, within the framework of the Coalition and while respecting Iraq’s sovereignty. Jean-Yves Le Drian also stressed France’s determination to strengthen cooperation in all areas – political, security, economic, humanitarian, educational, and cultural - with Iraq, which could become a strategic partner of France in the region. He reaffirmed, as President Macron also did so in Baghdad on September 2, that France stands alongside the Iraqi government in its efforts to carry out its reform agenda.

The minister for Europe and foreign affairs reaffirmed France’s attachment to Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and its support for the Iraqi authorities in their determination to distance their country from regional tensions and to affirm its role of providing balance in the Middle East.