Mr. President,

China thanks Special Representative of the Secretary-General Hennis-Plasschaert for her briefing, and welcomes the Permanent Representative of Iraq to today’s meeting. I have also listened carefully to the statement of Ms. Edwar.

For some period of time, all parties in Iraq have maintained close communication on the formation of government. The Iraqi Government continues to effectively perform its duties, and we hope all parties in Iraq will speed up consultation on the formation of government, so that substantive progress can be made at an early date, and a political foundation for long-term stability can be laid. The international community should create a favorable environment to this end. We support the dialogue between the Iraqi Central Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government on outstanding issues to jointly find sustainable solutions and further improve relations

The security situation in Iraq remains dire. According to the Secretary-General’s report. Terrorist remnants are still carrying out asymmetric attacks. The international community should continue to support Iraq in its fight against terrorism, root out ISIL and other extremist terrorist forces, prevent the return and spread of terrorist activities, and consolidate the hard-won results of counter-terrorism. China commends Iraq for bringing back a large number of its own citizens from the Al Hol camp in Syria, and calls on the relevant countries to assume responsibilities as Iraq did, and move forward as soon as possible the identification and repatriation of foreign terrorist fighters and their families in Iraq. Peace in Iraq is inseparable from the stability in its neighboring area. China appreciates Iraq developing friendly relations with regional countries. It is worth highlighting that all military operations on the Iraqi territory must be subject to the consent of the Iraqi Government, and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq should be respected.

Iraq faces multiple challenges such as food insecurity, rising prices, shortages of basic services and the COVID-19 pandemic. The country has a heavy burden of rebuilding and improving its economy. The international community should continue to help Iraq develop its economy and improve people’s livelihood, and encourage Iraq to explore a development path suited to its national conditions. Iraq also faces the important task of tackling climate change. China supports the UN in providing assistance to Iraq with focus on necessary clean energy technologies. Based on the existing division of labor among UN agencies, It is also important to give full play to the role of the country team.

Mr. President,

China has always been following closely the peace and development in Iraq, and provided assistance within its capacity. During the period when the security situation in Iraq was dire, Chinese enterprises remained in Iraq, thus contributing to getting the national economy of Iraq going, and securing people’s livelihood. After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China took the lead in dispatching a team of anti-pandemic experts to Iraq, in providing the countries with multiple batches of supplies and equipment, and in supplying Iraq with COVID-19 vaccines, thus rendering important support for the Iraqi people in their pandemic response. China will continue to work with the rest of the international community to help Iraq achieve lasting peace and sustainable development at an early date.

Thank you, Mr. President.