<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong></strong><strong>The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, received this Friday at the headquarters of the Ministry his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein, with whom he discussed the evolution of the conflict in the Middle East, the recent fire in Lebanon and Iraq's mediation efforts to contain the regional escalation. The ministers have also committed to promoting bilateral relations and the presence of Spanish companies in Iraq.</strong></h4> Hussein is in Madrid accompanying Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al Sudani, who is making the first visit by a head of the Executive of this country to Spain. For Albares, this has been the third meeting with his Iraqi counterpart in 2024, after the meeting on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in July and his trip to Baghdad in January. As on previous occasions, according to Foreign Ministry in a press release, the conflict in the Middle East has been the focus of the meeting, in which Albares has recognized Iraq's role in mediation thanks to its long relationship with all regional actors, in particular with Iran, key to containing the regional escalation. There has also been talk about the ceasefire in Lebanon, the need to continue supporting UNRWA and the two-state solution as a way to achieve lasting peace in the region. <h5><strong>Bilateral relations</strong></h5> The ministers have committed to promoting bilateral and economic relations. “Spain appreciates the efforts of the Iraqi government to open avenues for a greater presence of Spanish companies in its country,” the Ministry stressed. In this regard, the agreement on financial cooperation, signed on Thursday between the two countries, will further facilitate bilateral exchanges. Albares also reminded his counterpart that Spain is firmly committed to the sovereignty, stability and territorial integrity of Iraq. “Therefore, within the International Coalition against Daesh, we are the main contributor to the NATO Training Mission, with 156 soldiers deployed in the country to fight terrorism and strengthen the Iraqi security forces,” concluded the Foreign Ministry. For his part, according to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry website, Fuad Hussein praised the participation of Spanish companies in infrastructure projects in Iraq and stressed the importance of strengthening cooperation between the public and private sectors in the two countries. The Iraqi minister also called for political consultations to be activated by holding a meeting at the level of deputy ministers of the two foreign ministries, in order to resume the work of the joint committees. The request was welcomed by the Spanish minister, who promised to implement this proposal as soon as possible. Hussein also addressed the importance of organizing training courses in cooperation with friendly countries and proposed the involvement of the Spanish Diplomatic School in the training of Iraqi Ministry staff in the area of relations between Europe and Latin America. Both parties agreed to work to activate this proposal. The Iraqi minister thanked the Spanish government for its “positive attitude” in the Middle East and expressed his hope that the new US administration would contribute to finding solutions to the crises afflicting the region and the world. <h5><strong>Mohamed Shia al Sudani</strong></h5> The day before, the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, received the Prime Minister of Iraq, Mohammed Shia al Sudani, at the Moncloa Palace, with whom he agreed on the need to stop the escalation of violence in the Middle East and signed two memoranda of understanding on financial and judicial cooperation. The two leaders also adopted a Joint Declaration in which, in addition to addressing the strengthening of bilateral relations and a framework for cooperation to face regional and multilateral challenges, both countries call on all parties to act with maximum restraint, put an end to violence immediately and fully respect International Law, including International Humanitarian Law. This is the second bilateral meeting between the Iraqi Prime Minister and Pedro Sánchez, who made an official visit to Baghdad in December 2023. At the end of that meeting, the two leaders offered a joint Institutional Declaration that established the roadmap for future collaboration between the two countries and set ambitious goals in the political, economic, commercial, cultural and educational fields.
