The president’s remarks came during his speech at openning session of the second edition of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership that was held in Jordan.

In the speech, he also asserted the importance of joint efforts to enhance the capacity of Iraqi institutions to maintain the country’s security and sovereignty.

In November, Egypt's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the repeated attacks carried out by Iran and Turkey against Iraq and Syria violate the sovereignty of each country, calling for de-escalation to prevent bloodshed and spare the region more destabilisation.

The second conference was held to build on the outcomes of the first session that was held in August 2021 and discusses ways to enhance constructive dialogue to solve the problems in the region, Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said earlier in the day.

President El-Sisi's participation in Baghdad conference reflects Egypt's support for Iraq to return to its active and balanced role at the regional level, and its keenness to ensure its security and stability, according to Rady.

The Baghdad conference featured the participation of a number of leaders and representatives of countries and regional organisations, from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Iran.

The secretary general of the Arab League, secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, representatives from the UN, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the EU also took part in the conference.

The conference aimed at supporting the security and stability of Iraq and pushing forward its development process.

Following the conference, El-Sisi participated in a tripartite summit with both Jordan's King and the Iraq's newly appointed Prime Minister Mohamed Shia El-Sudani.

A new phase of partnership

El-Sisi underscored the importance of the conference to provide all means of support to Iraq. He also expressed a sincere desire to usher-in a new phase of partnership by strengthening action at the bilateral level and within the frameworks of multilateral cooperation, such as the tripartite cooperation mechanism between Egypt, Iraq and Jordan.

"The convening of our summit today comes to renew the commitment to the firm principles of international relations, enshrined in the spirit and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations," El-Sisi said, adding that those include primarily good-neighbourliness, non-interference in internal affairs, non-aggression, mutual respect for the sovereignty of states, the cessation of the imposition of a fait accompli policy and the importance of working toward achieving mutual benefit.

El-Sisi also stated that the Iraqi meeting represents an opportunity to exchange views and explore new horizons for coordination and cooperation between Iraq and other Arab countries, adding that such meetings support the path toward stability, thus enhancing our abilities to face the challenges associated with international crises.

El-Sisi hails Iraq's efforts to confront terrorism

Egypt’s president hailed the efforts of Iraqi government and people in confronting the spread of terrorism and extremist ideology and the scourge of long-term conflicts and wars.

"Egypt appreciates the important achievements of the Iraqi state that helped restore the role of state institutions, eliminate dark terrorist attempts, achieve security, stability and state sovereignty, and preserve the unity of its national fabric," El-Sisi said.

He also affirmed Egypt's stance with Iraq in support of its efforts, aspirations and choices, for Iraq to always remain one of the fortresses of the Arab nation.

Egypt has been cultivating stronger ties with Iraq recently.

In June 2021, El-Sisi visited Baghdad, becoming the first Egyptian president to do so since former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990.

Tripartite cooperation between Egypt, Iraq and Jordan

During the speech, the president stated Egypt, Iraq and Jordan have partnered in launching the tripartite cooperation mechanism, as a joint Arab framework for integration.

"This took place in light of the historical and fraternal bonds they – the three countries – share as well as their common fate and shared goals," he said.

The leaders of the three countries have collectively met four times over three years to discuss a variety of strategic multilateral projects.

El-Sisi reaffirmed Egypt's resolve to implement these joint projects, which are currently under consideration.

In June, the foreign ministers of the three countries announced in Baghdad the launching of a project to construct an industrial city on the Iraqi-Jordanian border.

Egypt plans to provide electricity to both Iraq and Jordan through an international grid connection between the three countries.