Egyptian, Jordanian leaders in Iraq for 'Baghdad Tripartite Summit'

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Three top regional leaders met in the Iraqi capital on Sunday to discuss relations between their governments of Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan in what's being called the Baghdad Tripartite Summit.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi was the first of the two heads of state to be welcomed to Baghdad International Airport by Iraqi President Barham Salih, according to a statement from his office.

In his initial one-on-one meeting with Sissi, Salih covered in detail the "intensifying efforts to combat terrorism, radicalism, the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change, as well as ensuring stability in the region."

Next to be greeted upon arrival was by Jordan’s King Abdulla bin Hussein. 

Both leaders were taken separately to be received by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who welcomed them with full state ceremonies where military bands played the countries' national anthems.

The summit is scheduled to begin shortly after their arrival in Baghdad and will cover "various pressing issues concerning the Middle East that include terrorism, climate change, and trade."

Ahead of the summit, Kadhimi tweeted support for the two visiting leaders and the aim of the participants in the summit to operate by "the logic of cooperation and integration."

The first such meeting took place last year in the Jordanian capital of Amman. In March, the foreign ministers of all three nations met in Baghdad in large part to prepare for the summit currently taking place in the Iraqi capital.

Read More: Iraqi, Jordanian, and Egyptian foreign ministers meet in Baghdad

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Wednesday met with King Abdulla in Amman, where the two discussed ties between the autonomous region and the Hashemite Kingdom.

Editing by John J. Catherine