[Economics] Iraq, Egypt, Jordan prioritise economics at Baghdad summit, leave questions unanswered

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BAGHDAD - The leaders of Iraq, Egypt and Jordan prioritized the economic aspects at their tripartite summit on Sunday in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, over political and security issues, raising questions about what Egypt and Jordan could offer to Iraq.

The summit, which kicked off on Saturday, included Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Iraqi President Barham Salih, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II.

While Egypt and Jordan see opportunities in Iraq, which has just announced that it has overcome its budget deficit thanks to high oil prices, many Iraqis do not see any economic benefits from these two countries.

A member of the Iraqi parliament, who preferred not to be named, told The Arab Weekly that "Egypt and Jordan have nothing to offer Iraq."

Iraqi political analyst Rahim al-Kaabi believes that "Iraq's increasingly difficult economic and living conditions and increases the country's tensions call for partners who are able to provide economic solutions to the frustrations of the Iraqi street. But it seems that the government has chosen another option."

In his interview with Arab Weekly, Al-Kaabi asked: "What has changed so that the Arab Cooperation Council, in its amended form, has become a solution for a country deprived of its sovereignty and burdened with crises, tensions and divisions like Iraq?"

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh and Jordan's King Hussein established the Arab Cooperation Council in February 1989. But the alliance soon collapsed after the Kuwait crisis in 1990.

 

Iraqi political researcher Hamid al-Kafaei believes that Egypt and Jordan are two Arab countries that are important to Iraq and are globally important, and the rapprochement and coordination between them is beneficial to Iraq and enhances its regional and international standing.

In his interview with Arab Weekly, Kafai added, "Iraq's rapprochement with any other Arab country will not be at the expense of its Gulf relations, as it benefits Iraq and enhances its position, especially in light of Iranian threats to its sovereignty, culture and national existence."

The Baghdad summit also represented an opportunity for Jordan to restore its normal relations with Iraq following a period of estrangement and distrust after the US invasion.

 

BAGHDAD - The leaders of Iraq, Egypt and Jordan prioritized the economic aspects at their tripartite summit on Sunday in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, over political and security issues, raising questions about what Egypt and Jordan could offer to Iraq.

 

The summit, which kicked off on Saturday, included Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Iraqi President Barham Salih, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II.

While Egypt and Jordan see opportunities in Iraq, which has just announced that it has overcome its budget deficit thanks to high oil prices, many Iraqis do not see any economic benefits from these two countries.

A member of the Iraqi parliament, who preferred not to be named, told The Arab Weekly that "Egypt and Jordan have nothing to offer Iraq."

Iraqi political analyst Rahim al-Kaabi believes that "Iraq's increasingly difficult economic and living conditions and increases the country's tensions call for partners who are able to provide economic solutions to the frustrations of the Iraqi street. But it seems that the government has chosen another option."

In his interview with Arab Weekly, Al-Kaabi asked: "What has changed so that the Arab Cooperation Council, in its amended form, has become a solution for a country deprived of its sovereignty and burdened with crises, tensions and divisions like Iraq?"

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh and Jordan's King Hussein established the Arab Cooperation Council in February 1989. But the alliance soon collapsed after the Kuwait crisis in 1990.

 

Iraqi political researcher Hamid al-Kafaei believes that Egypt and Jordan are two Arab countries that are important to Iraq and are globally important, and the rapprochement and coordination between them is beneficial to Iraq and enhances its regional and international standing.

In his interview with Arab Weekly, Kafai added, "Iraq's rapprochement with any other Arab country will not be at the expense of its Gulf relations, as it benefits Iraq and enhances its position, especially in light of Iranian threats to its sovereignty, culture and national existence."

The Baghdad summit also represented an opportunity for Jordan to restore its normal relations with Iraq following a period of estrangement and distrust after the US invasion.
Jordan and Iraq had previously agreed on projects that could represent a new basis for economic cooperation between the two neighboring countries, especially the Basra-Aqaba pipeline, the joint economic zone and the electrical grid integration project.

 

The trade balance has been in favor of Jordan in recent years. But Amman expects to increase oil exports from Iraq, from which Jordan imports no more than 10 percent of its oil needs.

For many years before 2003, Jordan imported most of its oil needs from Iraq for free or at preferential prices.

Some experts link the economic ambitions that underlie the relationship between the three countries relate to a number of considerations including the desire to invest in Egypt's large consumer market (110 million po[CENSORED]tion) and to benefit from the huge oil wealth of Iraq and the geographical location of the kingdom of Jordan, which links the other two countries.

The head of the Arab Forum for Policy Analysis in Cairo, Mohamed Mohsen Abul-Nur, said that the summit had “declared objectives, which included boosting the economic and partnership between the three countries, and benefiting from each country’s assets. But there are other undeclared objectives.”

Abul-Nur added, “there are implicit goals that can be deduced, such as hostile regional expansionism in Iraq,” and setting up plans between the three countries to thwart “the expansion of Turkish and Iranian lobbies in Iraq against Kadhimi and to strengthen the Iraqi state's defenses through economic, political and security initiatives.”

In some political circles, there has been an increasing use of the new term "Al-Sham Al-Jadeed" (the new Levant) to refer to the cooperation formula between the three countries. This is a hint to a change in political geography linking the Levant to Syria and reassuring those who may believe that the new bloc aims to pave the way for the assimilation of Syria into its fold after the rapid developments signaling the rehabilitation of President Bashar al- Assad's regime.

 

The use of this term lowers expectations and speculation that linked it to security and political alliances and focuses instead on its economic goals, at least at this stage. Such an interpretation is likely to mitigate the expected criticism by some regional powers, who may see in it as the nucleus of an alliance that goes beyond economic goals.

Kadhimi used the expression "the new Levant" for the first time during his visit to the United States last August, pointing out that he intends to enter into an economic project with Cairo and Amman to form a regional bloc capable of meeting challenges.

The same term has been repeated to different degrees and at different times by officials in the three countries which means that the “New Levant” project has been under consideration for some time and has been waiting for the appropriate conditions to be launched. The Baghdad summit may be a prelude to its general official use.