Reuters, Baghdad :
French President Emmanuel Macron pledged support for Iraq on Wednesday and said the main challenges facing the country are Islamic State militants and foreign interference in its affairs. “We are here for and we will continue to support Iraq,” Macron said at a news conference in Baghdad with his Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih.
Iraq should not become a battleground for proxy conflicts between other states, Salih said.
Macron’s visit is the first by a Western leader to Iraq since Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi took office in May, becoming the third head of government in a chaotic 10-week period that followed months of deadly protests in a country exhausted by decades of sanctions, war, corruption and economic challenges.
