The summit of regional leaders with US President Joe Biden presents Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi with the opportunity to showcase his credentials to continue leading the country and cement its role as key player in the Middle East, experts say.
Saudi Arabia will host the meeting between Mr Biden, leaders of its fellow Gulf Co-operation Council members, and of Iraq, Egypt and Jordan, in Jeddah on Saturday, before the US president concludes his first visit to the region since taking office last year.
Mr Al Kadhimi is expected to hold separate talks with Mr Biden on Friday night.
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US President Joe Biden waves from a plane at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. AFP -
US President Joe Biden boards a plane at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. AFP -
Mr Biden walks to the plane. AFP -
President Sheikh Mohamed in discussion with Mr Biden during the Gulf Co-operation Council GCC+3 Jeddah Security and Development Summit. Photo: Abdulla Al Neyadi for the Presidential Court -
US President Joe Biden attends the Gulf Co-operation Council GCC+3 Jeddah Security and Development Summit at a hotel in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coastal city. AFP -
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends the Gulf Co-operation Council GCC+3 meeting in Jeddah. AFP -
US President Joe Biden and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the GCC+3 Jeddah Security and Development Summit. AFP -
President Sheikh Mohamed attended a traditional summit 'family photo call' in the company of, from left: Asaad bin Tariq Al Said, Omani Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Co-operation Affairs and the Special Representative of the Sultan; Sheikh Mohamed; Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi; Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa; US President Joe Biden; Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman; Jordan's King Abdullah II; Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani; Kuwait's Crown Prince Mishal Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, and Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi. AFP -
President Sheikh Mohamed is received by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman upon his arrival at King Abdulaziz International Airport. Photo: Abdulla Al Neyadi for the Presidential Court -
President Sheikh Mohamed is received by Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohamed bin Salman upon his arrival at King Abdulaziz International Airport. Photo: Abdulla Al Neyadi for the Presidential Court -
President Sheikh Mohamed greets Sheikh Mishal Al Sabah, Crown Prince of Kuwait, during the GCC+3 Jeddah Security and Development Summit. Photo: Rashed Al Mansoori / Presidential Court -
US President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken meet Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and other officials during a bilateral meeting at a hotel in Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah before the GCC+3 meeting. AFP -
US President Joe Biden meets Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi, in Jeddah before the beginning of the GCC+3 meeting. Reuters -
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman receives Sheikh Mishal Al Sabah, Crown Prince of Kuwait, before the GCC + 3 Jeddah Security and Development Summit on Saturday. SPA -
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi arrive for the Jeddah summit. SPA -
US President Joe Biden participates in a working session with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah. AP -
US President Joe Biden and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a bilateral meeting with Saudi officials led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al Salam Palace. Reuters -
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman takes part in a working session with US President Joe Biden and his team. AFP -
Saudi Arabia's King Salman greets US President Joe Biden at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah. Photo: @spagov -
King Salman and US President Joe Biden in discussions at Al Salam Palace in Jeddah. Photo: @spagov -
US President Joe Biden meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah. Photo: @spagov -
US President Joe Biden arrives at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. Photo: @spagov -
US President Joe Biden is welcomed by Saudi Arabian officials. AFP -
Mr Biden disembarks from Air Force One at King Abdulaziz International Airport, following a flight from Tel Aviv. AFP -
US Presidents Joe Biden salutes as he boards Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv en route to a meeting with the GCC+3 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Reuters -
Israel's President Isaac Herzog, second right, and caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, centre, bid farewell to US President Joe Biden at Ben Gurion Airport. AFP -
US President Joe Biden meets clergy at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. Reuters -
US President Joe Biden is introduced to local people at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem. Reuters -
US President Joe Biden arrives at the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem, on the second full day of his Middle East visit. AFP -
US President Joe Biden and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas address the media after their meeting at the Muqataa Presidential Compound in Bethlehem, the occupied West Bank. AFP -
A photo of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is placed on a chair as reporters wait for US President Joe Biden and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to speak. She was killed in a raid by Israeli forces in May. The caption reads: 'Shireen Abu Akleh, voice of Palestine'. AP -
US President Joe Biden with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at a welcome ceremony at the Palestinian Muqataa Presidential Compound in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank. AFP -
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomes US President Joe Biden to the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Reuters -
A Palestinian security officer stands guard near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank before US President Joe Biden’s official visit. AFP -
Palestinian and Israeli human rights campaigners lift banners during a rally near Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem as US President Joe Binden visits. AFP -
US President Joe Biden greets fans as he attends the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah Games at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem. AFP -
US President Joe Biden poses for a picture with US athletes competing in the Maccabiah Games. AFP -
People use the lights of their phones during the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem, attended by US President Joe Biden. Reuters -
US athletes attend the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem. AFP -
The Maccabiah Games coincided with the US President Joe Biden's visit to the Middle East. AFP -
US President Joe Biden, centre, Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, right, and President Isaac Herzog attend the opening ceremony for the Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem. Reuters -
A Palestinian protester carries a placard during a demonstration in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah as US President Joe Biden visited Israel. AFP -
In Gaza City, Palestinian demonstrators wave their national flag as they gather to protest against the visit by US President Joe Biden to Israel. AFP -
A billboard, part of a campaign organised by the Centre for Human Rights B'Tselem, installed before US President Joe Biden's arrival for an official visit in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. PA -
US President Joe Biden receives the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour from Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem. AP Photo -
US President Joe Biden, centre left, and President Isaac Herzog with children after Mr Biden's arrival at the presidential residence in Jerusalem. AFP -
US President Joe Biden signs the guest book in the presence of President Isaac Herzog on arriving at the presidential residence in Jerusalem. AFP -
US President Joe Biden with President Isaac Herzog and Mrs Michal Herzog in Jerusalem. AFP -
US and Saudi Arabian flags in a square in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, before US President Joe Biden's visit. AP -
US President Joe Biden and caretaker Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid at a press conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Jerusalem. EPA -
President Sheikh Mohamed delivers the opening speech during the I2U2 summit, a meeting between the leaders of the UAE, India, Israel and the US. Seen with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation. Photo: Presidential Court -
President Sheikh Mohamed speaks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid during the I2U2 summit. Photo: Presidential Court -
US President Joe Biden and caretaker Iraeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid address a joint press conference. AFP -
US President Joe Biden and Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid during their meeting at a hotel in Jerusalem. AFP -
US President Joe Biden speaks to Holocaust survivors Dr Gita Cycowicz and Rena Quint in the Hall of Remembrance, at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. AP -
US President Joe Biden participates in a wreath-laying ceremony in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem. AP -
Israel's President Isaac Herzog speaks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US President Joe Biden during their visit to Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Centre in Jerusalem. Reuters -
Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz, left, US President Joe Biden, second left, caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, right, and Brig Gen Shawn Harris, defence attache to the US embassy, in front of Israel's Iron Dome defence system during a tour at Ben Gurion Airport. AP -
US President Joe Biden waves as he leaves Israel's Ben Gurion Airport on his way to Jerusalem. EPA -
US President Joe Biden, centre, stands for the national anthems alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second left, Israel's President Herzog, third left, caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, third right, and departing prime minister Naftali Bennett, second right, at Ben Gurion Airport. AFP -
Caretaker Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog welcome US President Joe Biden to Israel as his trip begins. Reuters
“The summit is more significant for Prime Minister Al Kadhimi than for Iraq, per se, as it is an opportunity for Kadhimi to show that Iraq can be a top-level regional player with him at the head,” said Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute who studies Iraq's military and security.
“If another premier were leading it is unlikely Iraq would be given an invitation to Jeddah,” Mr Knights told The National.
Mr Al Kadhimi wrote in an op-ed for Foreign Policy magazine this week that he would represent a "resilient Iraq" to the region and the US.
His participation bolsters his prospects of remaining in office beyond his current caretaker status, with Iraqi political factions in a deadlock over formation of a new government after a general election in October. It also continues Baghdad's participation in regional discussions that are crucial for Iraq.
"It is also designed to encourage any possible successor to continue the same policies of balancing Iraq between Iranian and US pressure and finding ways of reintegrating Iraq into the Arab world," said Hussein Ibish, an academic at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.
Ties between Iraq and the region must be strengthened to help Baghdad "revitalise and rebuild Iraqi-Jordanian economic, diplomatic and political ties and, ultimately, revive the Iraqi-Jordanian-Egyptian triangle in the Middle East and in the Arab world", Mr Ibish told The National.
This would be extremely beneficial to all parties except Iran, Mr Ibish said.
Sajad Jiyad, a fellow at the Century Foundation in New York, said Baghdad's participation in the summit provides it with a “say in some of the negotiations that are going on concerning the region”.
“Iraq is an important state to the region and so its participation in regional summits like this one will give it a say in its future and making it clear what are the challenges it faces,” he said.
Baghdad has good relations with Iran and so it does not want Saudi Arabia, US and others to negatively impact their ties, Mr Jiyad said.
“It does not want to be destabilised by the impact of deteriorating relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia or Iran and the US,” he said.
"Mr Al Kadhimi was recently in Saudi Arabia and Iran so I’m sure there are some messages he wishes to convey to the region."
Mr Jiyad said economic co-operation would be at the top of Mr Al Kadhimi’s agenda, with many projects put forward between Baghdad and Gulf states but little progress so far.
Improved ties with Riyadh
Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iraq have improved rapidly since Mr Al Kadhimi took office in May 2019.
"Saudi leaders know Al Kadhimi well from his period as head of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service. Aramco has, for the first time, seriously looked into investing in Iraq, and Saudi Arabia is readying to give Baghdad cheap electricity and new trade advantages," Mr Knights said.
However, this momentum might be lost under a new government, he said.
"These ties are fragile, however, and probably cannot survive a major change in the leadership in Iraq," Mr Knights said.
Ties between Saudi Arabia and Iraq were cut after Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and restored only in 2015, when the kingdom reopened its embassy in Baghdad.
Concerns remain over the rise of Iran-backed political groups following the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam.
"Saudi Arabia came to view Iraq as an incorrigible, hopeless vassal state of Iran, totally overrun by pro-Iranian militias and dominated by Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Mr Ibish said.
He said Baghdad's ties with Riyadh are crucial and Mr Al Kadhimi must succeed in portraying Iraq as an independent state free of Iranian domination.
"The biggest challenge for Iraqi-Saudi relations from Baghdad's perspective should be, and probably is, how to convince Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries that Iraq is a net benefit and will not ultimately prove to be little more than a useful weapon for Tehran in some form or another," he said.
