policy
As part of the executive authority's endeavors to establish the rule of law, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein confirmed on Wednesday that the Iraqi government has drafted a comprehensive project plan aimed at keeping weapons exclusively in the hands of the state, scheduled to be officially launched in the coming days with precise implementation timelines, pointing out that the Prime Minister has set June of next year as the final deadline to complete this plan entirely. These statements came during an expanded dialogue session hosted by the Atlantic Council in the US capital, Washington, on Wednesday, titled "Iraq after September 30," which was moderated by Victoria Taylor, Director of the Iraq Initiative and Syria Project at the Council, amid prominent diplomatic and political attendance. The dialogue session addressed various updates on the political and security scene in Iraq and the region, in addition to reviewing prospects for joint cooperation and bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States, and the future of security coordination and efforts made to eliminate the terrorist ISIS organization and pursue its remnants. The meeting also touched upon Baghdad's firm stance towards ongoing conflicts in the region, the potential repercussions of the sanctions imposed on Iran on the Iraqi economy and its trade relations, as well as the relentless efforts exerted by the Iraqi government in the file of state arms control and the mechanism for dealing with armed factions. In a related context, the minister explained that the anticipated plan will contain specific timeframes for implementing its various stages, confirming what the Prime Minister announced regarding the final deadline for completing the plan in June of next year. The discussion extended to include border security and rapid security developments in Syria and their direct repercussions on Iraqi national security, in addition to discussing ways to push economic relations to new horizons, and motivating major US companies to invest in the Iraqi market to support economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries.
