12 December 2009: Gulf News
Zebari was addressing participants from 25 countries at the Manama Dialogue, an
annual security conference co-organised by Bahrain's foreign ministry and the
London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
By Habib Toumi
Manama: Baghdad has suggested that Gulf Cooperation Council countries invest
in Iraq farms to help revive its agriculture and ensure the Gulf's food security
locally.
Several Gulf countries have recently signed agreements with countries in Asia
to secure land for agriculture and food production following a hike in food
prices and food market downturns.
In September, 10 Saudi Arabian agricultural companies said that they wanted
to make the Philippines their food production hub while other GCC countries said
they were looking to invest in Asian farmlands.
However, Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister, on Saturday said that GCC
countries and Iraq can work together to promote better trade and investments to
strengthen their economies.
"Here is a specific example: Why not help us revive Iraq's agriculture,
thereby helping ensure the Gulf's food security locally? The stronger our ties,
the better we will be collectively," he said.
He was addressing participants from 25 countries at the Manama Dialogue, an
annual security conference co-organised by Bahrain's foreign ministry and the
London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS).
Zebari said that Iran and Turkey were having greater levels of influence in
his country than Arab countries thanks to their engagement policies.
""People are competing to engage with us, with neighboures Turkey and Iran
well ahead of all the others, particularly of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Because of their vastly greater levels of engagement, it is these two regional
powers that have the greatest levels and are able to reach the broadest audience
in Iraq. The presence of oiur Arab brothers is hardly felt," Hoshyar Zebari,
said.
"We would like to rectify this disequilibrium, but by not reducing either
Iran or Turkey's engagement. We need greater engagement by the GCC and Arab
states."
Zebari said that the progress in Arab states' engagement was
insufficient.
"Much more needs to be done, by Iraq and by the GCC. On our part, we will
very soon appoint ambassadors to represent us in all the capitals of the Gulf.
Their mandates will help strengthen our ties with the GCC. We must work together
to promote better trade and investment to strengthen our economies, better
security cooperation to combat the threat of terrorism, better policy
coordination to defend the interests of our region internationally," he
said.
