France Supports Iraq's Efforts To Safeguard Sovereignty

Any military ties with Iraq should be respectful of its sovereignty and France supports Kadhimi’s efforts to safeguard it, as well as to ‘normalise’ all armed forces, says Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron discussed energy co-operation with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi and working together on a nuclear project that could solve Iraq’s chronic electricity shortages, Kadhimi said on Wednesday.

“We talked about a future project, using nuclear energy to produce electricity and peaceful projects, which will be under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency ... which will create jobs and address electricity shortages,” Kadhimi said in a Baghdad news conference.

Macron said they also discussed military co-operation in the face of Daesh and French support for building a metro railway in Baghdad.

Any military co-operation with Iraq should be respectful of its sovereignty and France supports Kadhimi’s efforts to safeguard it, as well as to “normalise” all armed forces, Macron said, referring to mostly Iran-backed Shi’ite militia groups.

The trip was not publicly announced until Tuesday evening, with officials in Paris and Baghdad keeping a tight lid on arrangements for security reasons.