Source: Macron's Baghdad Visit is to participate in Baghdad Conference amidst Gulf tensions

Shafaq News/ An informed government source revealed on Wednesday the purpose behind French President Emmanuel Macron's upcoming visit to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Earlier today, the Iraqi Prime Minister's Media Office confirmed the expected visit by Macron to Iraq. Contrary to speculations of a personal visit, the government source clarified that Macron's presence in Baghdad is specifically to participate in the third edition of the Baghdad Conference.

"The visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to the capital, Baghdad, is not a personal visit, but rather it comes to participate in the Baghdad Conference in its third edition," the source told Shafaq News Agency.

However, uncertainties surround the conference's schedule due to regional tensions following the decision of the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court, Iraq's highest judicial authority, on September 4. The court ruled the law ratifying the Khor Abdullah maritime navigation agreement with Kuwait unconstitutional.

This ruling led to a strong response from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. On September 18, the foreign ministers of the GCC nations issued a statement denouncing the Iraqi judiciary's decision regarding the Khor Abdullah Agreement as "inaccurate and out of context."

Kuwait escalated its international efforts, engaging with senior officials in the United States and the United Nations to address the issue of the Maritime Navigation Convention. The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs also formally protested the Federal Court's ruling by handing a memorandum of protest to the Iraqi ambassador in Kuwait.