Alwaght- After several years of crisis and unrest in West Asia, in the new conditions significant efforts are underway by various actors to rebuild the regional order. Iraq, itself one of the epicenters of the regional crisis and a setting where regional and international players rival for influence, seems to have become a center of pro-stabilization and mediations among the rival regional actors.
A Baghdad summit is set for late August gathering together such regional actors as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, Syria, and others, said Iraqi officials.
Although no specific goals have been given publicity for the meeting so far, pieces of evidence show that issues such as terrorism, security, economic cooperation, environment, and energy resources will be the central focus of the Baghdad meeting. Politically speaking, Baghdad will not concentrate on a specific matter, rather, it intends to gather together the regional states.
Still, Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi must have some drivers for this summit. What are they and what political messages does inviting some countries like Syria send?
Al-Kadhimi’s goals
In post-ISIS Iraq, Baghdad government can have four reasons to host this regional summit.
Taking a mediatory role and de-escalating tensions among neighbors
Post-ISIS and as the country recovers from the consequences of the war against the self-proclaimed caliphate of ISIS that ended by obliteration of the terrorist group, acting as a mediator to de-escalate the tensions among rivaling regional countries has become the backbone of the Iraqi foreign policy. So far, Baghdad has hosted several rounds of consultations and talks between the political delegations of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia, as two big and influential regional powers. The forthcoming summit is a calming meeting with a special focus on mending Iran and Saudi Arabia ties. That the countries of the region sit by each other, talk, and reach shared points is essentially positive in the path to addressing the regional problems.
Reviving Iraq's political place and prestige in the region
Iraq has been one of the most important players in the Arab world and even in West Asia for decades. It was recognized as one of the main poles of regional power during the Ba'athist rule and also served as a major military and political power in the Arab League. After the US invasion in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein, not only did the country lose its position at the regional level but also as a failed state with a fallen government institutions it became scene for foreign actors pursuing own agenda and rivaling others. In the new conditions, Iraqi leaders are seeking a departure from their not-so-distant past in quest for pre-invasion glory and prestige. The summit is just one step forward.
Restoring Iraqi security through contributing to regional stability
In the years after 2003, and especially after the rise of ISIS in 2014, Iraq has become one of hot spots of insecurity in West Asia. In the meantime, most of the regional actors not only did not play a positive role in helping and restoring stability to Iraq in the fight against ISIS but also were themselves stirrers to the crisis in this country. Even more precisely, they made Iraq a field of their competition as central government was busy combating the terrorists that seized large tracts of land in the country. The outcome was, indeed, costly insecurity and instability. Baghdad’s arrangement of the summit represents its pro-peace and security efforts through bringing the rivals' visions close enough to assuage regional hostility. In other words, The less tensions there are between the rival actors, the better Iraq will be in terms of security.
Al-Kadhimi looks forward to retain post
There is also a personal goal. The Iraqi PM wants to keep his post beyond October 10 general election. In fact, al-Kadhimi is trying to gain a special place by holding such meetings, both internally and externally, and thereby convince the Iraqi political factions to agree to him keep holding the post. As a matter of fact, he is well aware that the PM post in Iraq is not securable only through internal support and that regional advocacy to a figure considerably counts.
Syria invitation: A triumph to Axis of Resistance, President Assad
Undoubtedly, among those invited to the Baghdad meeting, the most important and perhaps the most eye-catching actor is Syria, which is part of a powerful regional bloc called Axis of Resistance covering Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. The significance of inviting Bashar al-Assad lies in the fact that he has to sit at the meeting and look strong to actors like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE that over the past decade spared no efforts to topple him.
Syrian presence can imply two messages. First, presence of legitimate representative of Syrian people beside his opponents highlights Assad as a victorious leader who beat all the subversive home and foreign plots. Attending the summit marks Damascus transition to stability. The second message is even more eloquent: Syria's Assad is back to its regional position and role beside other regional powers.
