Attachments
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I’m glad to be part of this dialogue which explores opportunities to strengthen regional connectivity and integration. A timely gathering, I would say. As always, it is a great honour to be here. In Baghdad. A city steeped in history and tradition. A city I have called my home for over five years now.
Ladies and gentlemen, Iraq’s centrality to regional stability cannot be overstated. For numerous reasons. This is a point I have made many times.
Now, I assume there is no need to spell out the many highs and lows which faced Iraq over the past decades. All of you will already be aware, our Iraqi friends and colleagues most of all.
Instead, I wish to use this opportunity to emphasize that, today, Iraq is increasingly well positioned as an arena for dialogue and investment.
Within this context, domestic stability is (of course) key. Key for the Iraqi people, first and foremost. But also key for people of the region and beyond, as well as key for (for instance) foreign and private investors.
For any country to advance on the global or regional stage, it must be trusted. And, equally important, it must be able to trust others. And yes, that can be easier said than done. As we all know: trust is hard to gain but easy to lose. And nobody denies that legacies from the past can still impact the present. In other words: building trust requires constant and hard work. And that includes the ability to self-reflect.
One thing is for sure: each and every country benefits from being a reliable partner. Why? Because, at the end of the day, everything is connected.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Iraq of today is very different from that of two decades prior. It…
