"Overcoming international crises in Iraq requires regional cooperation"

A closing communique in the Second Baghdad Conference in Jordan, jointly organized by Iraq and France, said that participants reviewed the repercussions of international crises on Iraq and the region and said overcoming them required regional cooperation, Reuters reported.

The conference is aimed at supporting stability in Iraq and the wider region. The meeting was a follow-up to a gathering in Baghdad last year that aimed to show support for Iraq, which has faced crises ranging from Islamic State militants, climate change, corruption and instability since the 2003 US invasion.

"We reject interfering in its (Iraq) internal affairs, undermining its sovereignty, or attacking its lands," Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in his speech, adding.

"We do not accept any threat to be launched from Iraq against any of the neighboring countries or the region."

French President Emmanuel Macron said countries should focus on security, economy, water and infrastructure to support common concrete projects. He did not specify areas of cooperation.

"Collectively, we have to go beyond the divisions of the moment," Macron said, adding that the war in Ukraine had worsened the situation in the region.

Other leaders attending included Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah and Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf al-Sabah.