Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Dr. Nayef Falah Al-Hajraf reiterated the firm stances of the Council towards supporting security, stability and development efforts in the Republic of Iraq. This came during his speech before the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership in its second edition, which was hosted by Jordan in the Dead Sea region on Tuesday. Dr. Al-Hajraf affirmed that the GCC countries have paid great attention to strengthening its relationship with Iraq by striving to build a close strategic partnership in all fields. This close ties is based on the well-established relations that link them due to geographical proximity, religion and language, reinforced by kinship ties and common history, and driven by common goals to build the future and promote development and collective peace. "The final statement issued by the GCC Supreme Council following its 43rd session, which was held on Dec. 9, 2022 in Riyadh, emphasized the GCC"s firm stances and decisions towards Iraq, and its support for existing efforts to combat terrorism and achieve security and stability in it. “It stressed the importance of preserving the safety and integrity of Iraq’s territories, its full sovereignty, its Arab-Islamic identity, its social fabric and its national unity, and supporting it to confront terrorist groups and armed militias in order to establish state sovereignty and law enforcement and to reject any external interference in Iraq"s affairs," he said. He pointed out that "the past year witnessed several meetings at the headquarters of the General Secretariat in Riyadh and Baghdad in implementation of the joint action plan for the period 2019-2024 in the political, security, economic, cultural and other fields." He emphasized the significance of continuing the discussion and exchange of ideas on the phenomenon of extremism and terrorism through the GCC"s and Iraq"s strategic partnership. He called for strengthening regional and international coordination and cooperation to confront transnational extremist terrorist organizations and their aberrant ideologies, based on shared positions rejecting all manifestations and forms of terrorism. — SPA