OPINION:
BAGHDAD — I attended the Arab League Summit in Baghdad, Iraq, this past week. Baghdad took tremendous pride in serving as host. It has been a remarkable turnaround for Iraq. The country was war-torn and tattered, suffering from corruption and a variety of unique challenges for more than 20 years.
Now it is essentially 180 degrees different. Robust growth and activity are evident everywhere. There is construction all over Baghdad. The government is in the midst of a grand infrastructure plan, with roads, highways, bridges, utilities and more sprouting virtually everywhere.
Two words may best demonstrate current-day Baghdad and how it has changed: comfortable leisure.
When I was out in the evenings, I took note of a bustling nightlife. People are everywhere, in restaurants, at malls and strolling around the old downtown. There should be nothing remarkable about that, except that it was just a few years ago that these same areas were largely deserted in fear of car bombs or random acts of terror. No more. It is alive and filled with happy revelers.
Hosting duties for the Arab League Summit are an acknowledgement by the region that Iraq has arrived. Iraq hopes to harness this recognition and trust in the form of investment and economic activity.
Iraq’s Government Palace was the venue. I met with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in the same palace just a couple of weeks ago. He told me at that time why it was so important for Iraq to host.
“This serves to confirm the role of Iraq in the region. This pioneering role is essential, due to the history of Iraq and the impact of Iraq,” he said, adding that “Iraq will be providing solutions for numerous crises and challenges the region is facing.”
Media coverage was big. The excitement was palpable. A virtual who’s who in the Middle East arrived one after the other in a carefully choreographed arrival. Each nation’s representative was escorted from their airplane to the palace in their own BMW vehicular entourage. The size and scope of each motorcade varied, but all were impressive. Each individual leader was greeted warmly by Mr. al-Sudani upon arrival.
Publicly, the list of attendees was a well-guarded secret in advance. It seemed it was better to have a surprise guest or two rather than have an anticipated turnout be a no-show.
Prepared statements were given to the group by the presidents of Egypt, Yemen and Palestine; the prime ministers of Lebanon and Jordan; and the foreign ministers or deputy prime ministers of 12 other Arab nations. The United Nations secretary-general spoke as well.
The Iraqi prime minister was clear in his message to the group, saying, “Iraq has adopted a foreign policy that prioritizes partnership and cooperation with you, strengthens our countries’ shared interests, and is grounded in the principles of good neighborliness, non-interference in internal affairs, and non-alignment with regional and international axes. It is committed to confronting terrorism in all its forms.”
A visitor to Iraq can see and feel the growing stability, and Mr. al-Sudani was not going to miss this opportunity to trumpet it on the big stage.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi focused on Gaza and pointed out that his country is partnering with the United States and Qatar “exerting intense efforts to reach a ceasefire.” He was clear that “a lasting and comprehensive just peace in the Middle East will remain elusive unless a Palestinian state is established in accordance with legitimate resolutions.”
Mr. el-Sissi indicated that Egypt is already planning for the aftermath of the bloody fray, intending to hold an international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza.
Of particular interest to the West may have been the comments by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas calling on Hamas to abandon power, the same position as the Trump administration.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke about conflict in the region and said in regard to Gaza that a “two-state solution … is a necessity.”
Having the people of Israel and the Palestinians “living side by side has never been of more importance, yet has never seemingly been so clearly slipping from reality.”
Largely united on the conflict in Gaza, a big substantive question was what else would be included in any group statement coming out of the gathering? High-ranking officials from all nations had met over a number of days and crafted a unified message referred to as the Baghdad Declaration. It contained several key points including:
• Calling for the immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza;
• Demanding the allowance of aid without conditions;
• Rejecting any displacement of the Palestinian people;
• Welcoming President Trump’s declaration of lifting sanctions on Syria;
• Calling for a national dialogue in Syria involving all the country’s factions;
• Recommendations and support for Libya, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon and elsewhere;
Overall the message was one of unity, of encouraging peace and stability, and of planning a future for those areas currently experiencing trouble.
Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid may have summed it up best on his X account after the summit had concluded.
He wrote: “Together, we strive to strengthen economic, trade, and cultural ties that benefit the peoples of our region, who have endured much and deserve nothing less from us.”
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