Iraq faces its gravest crisis in many years as it fights the dangerous coalition led by Daesh (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), which has captured a large part of its western territory. A coalition of willing nations has assembled to help Iraq regain its lost territory and the UAE is a willing part of that international movement in support of the legitimate government of the country. But Iraq also needs long-term help from its neighbours and friends in the region to prepare to rebuild its shattered economy and start to offer its people some kind of stability and hope that they can return to more normal lives.
This is why UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan told Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi that the UAE is ready to help Iraq by supporting the political process that will help achieve security and stability and he also added that this process should include maintaining equality and political participation for all Iraqi people and establishing the values of social justice and equality that remove feelings of desperation and marginalisation.
It is important that the Iraq of the future welcomes all its citizens into full participation in public life. As the government commits to its desperate struggle against Daesh, it also needs to plan for a future when peace will come. That requires it to lay the groundwork for a plan that will rekindle the greatness that all Arabs feel when they think of Baghdad, the capital of the Arab world for so many centuries. Despite the current moment, the region needs to help Baghdad plan for a better future.
