TEHRAN – A senior Iranian foreign ministry official has enumerated the achievements of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership which was held in the Jordanian capital Amman.

The official, Alireza Enayati, who is the head of the Persian Gulf bureau at the Iranian foreign ministry, said the Baghdad Conference resulted in many achievements regionally. 

The second meeting of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership was recently held in Amman with the participation of Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, France, Iraq, the European Union, and Jordan. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian represented Iran and delivered a speech at the summit. 

“One of the important points of Mr. Amir Abdollahian's speech is to refer to the permanent role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in supporting Iraq over the past two decades,” Enayati said in remarks to Iran’s state news agency IRNA. 

He said, “On the other hand, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been active in the process of political operations and establishing security in Iraq, including the fight against ISIS. The presentation of martyrs of victory, such as martyrs General Soleimani and martyr Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, is also a sign of this issue. Therefore, the first axis of the minister's speech in the meeting included these topics.”

The diplomat added, “The second point was the necessity of dialogue and cooperation instead of confrontation. This means that it is necessary to use the element of dialogue to resolve misunderstandings and solve problems and increase the scope of cooperation.”

He continued, “The third point is to ensure the security of the region by the countries of the region, which is a necessary thing. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of our country also emphasized in this meeting that security is a complete and interconnected concept. Also, one of the axes discussed in this summit was nuclear issues and Iran expressed its view on nuclear issues.”

On the sidelines of the Baghdad Conference II in Jordan’s capital Amman, Amir Abdollahian held a meeting with the EU’s Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrel. At the meeting, the key issues on the agenda of Iran and the EU, especially the state of the Vienna talks, were discussed by the two top diplomats, the Iranian foreign ministry said.

Amir Abdollahian declared Iran’s readiness to sum up the Vienna talks based on the draft of the negotiation package that was the result of months of intensive and difficult talks. The Iranian foreign minister also advised the other sides to avoid politicizing the issue, adopt a realistic and constrictive approach and make the necessary decisions to announce a deal.

Amir Abdollahian also condemned the Western governments for their support of the rioters in Iran and for their imposition of illegal sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran on false excuses of defending the human rights of the Iranian people.

The EU foreign policy chief also explained the bloc’s policies toward Iran over the past few months. He said the Iran nuclear deal, JCPOA, and nuclear talks are separate issues from other ones on the agenda of the two sides.

Borrell reaffirmed the EU’s resolve to continue the Vienna negotiations until they produce results. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri and the Vienna talks coordinator Enrique Mora were also in attendance at the meeting.

Enayati also stated that in the Baghdad Conference II, the participants mentioned the issue of Palestine as the main issue of the Islamic world. “The topics that were raised in the speech of Mr. Amir Abdollahian, in addition to defining a framework for Iran's cooperation and strategy in the region, were about the cooperation of the countries of the region to fight against dust storms.”

According to the Iranian official, the issue of transit corridors in the region was also discussed in Amman. 

Enayati said meetings were also held on the sidelines of this summit and Amir Abdollahian had friendly talks with some countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.

“Also, there was an opportunity to have a bilateral meeting with King Abdullah of Jordan. In that meeting, Mr. foreign minister relayed a message from Ayatollah Raisi to the King of Jordan, which was an important meeting. The two sides talked about upgrading the level of relations to actualize the bilateral capacities. Both countries have such a capacity, which is considered a positive and constructive action on the part of Iran,” he said.

Enayati said that one of the important achievements of the trip was the final statement. “The final statement that was issued in the meeting was indicative of the important role of the countries in the region in supporting the peace and stability of Iraq. Everyone emphasized that the constructive and positive role of Iraq can be in line with Iraq's interests. In this case, it expressed the same point of view that Iran was putting forth, that the new Iraq is a reality in the region. New Iraq should be helped to play a constructive role in the region. And regional relations on the axis of Iraq should be formed based on constructiveness and cooperation,” he said. 

He added, “In addition to the emphasis on supporting Iraq, perhaps we can say one of the achievements of this summit is the emphasis on a regional meeting with the presence of the countries of the region.”

Enayati continued, “It is known that an institution called the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council has been formed in the last 4 decades in the Persian Gulf, but this cooperation council only includes the southern countries of the Persian Gulf and does not include the countries of Iraq and Iran. But the countries that have gathered in Baghdad and Jordan as cooperation and partnership are all the countries of the region.”

He said, “On the sidelines of this meeting, a friendly conversation was held with the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, where Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian emphasized the constant readiness of the Islamic Republic of Iran to develop relations with its neighbors.”