ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday presided over the signing of several bilateral agreements in Paris, including on aviation, defense and energy. The ceremony came a day after Zaidi arrived in the French capital for the first leg of a European tour that will also take him to Germany, and just weeks before a deadline at the end of September for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq.
Zaidi and Macron jointly oversaw “the signing ceremony of six memorandums of understanding between Iraq and France across a number of sectors,” the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported, noting that they included “a strategic cooperation agreement in the field of air defense.”
"Iraqi Electricity Minister Ali Saadi Wahib signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the French company Total, Patrick Pouyanne, regarding a gas supply and sales contract,” INA added.
Of note, earlier on Monday, Zaidi met with Pouyanne to "review the company's strategic energy projects in Iraq,” the state-run agency reported, “particularly in the gas sector.” Pouyanne was cited as stating that Total has “significant oil investments in Iraq reaching $12 billion, with plans to increase them in the future to reach $16 billion.”
Baghdad's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and French Minister Delegate Eleonore Caroit also signed an agreement focused on "empowering youth, research, and innovation," while the head of the Iraqi premier's advisory commission, Yousef Khalaf Yousef, and French Civil Aviation Authority Director General Chamseddine Chikhaoui "signed a declaration of intent for cooperation in civil aviation."
In a statement posted on X, Macron lauded Zaidi's decision to make France "the first stop of his European tour" as "a significant choice that demonstrates France can play a balancing role." He added that "securing our energy supplies by working toward de-escalation and developing alternative routes to the Strait of Hormuz means reducing pressure on fuel prices at the pump."
"Expanding our defense and security cooperation with our partners means continuing the relentless fight against terrorism together. Our diplomacy also serves this purpose: to tangibly protect the purchasing power of the French people and ensure their security," Macron said.
Iraqi government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi said Zaidi's Paris visit "will witness the signing of a number of memorandums of understanding across eight fields."
Zaidi's office announced on Sunday that he had departed for the tour "ahead of a high-level delegation, encompassing both France and Germany upon the official invitation of the two countries," framing the visit as part of Baghdad's efforts to "enhance international relations and open wider horizons for partnerships with the French and German sides."
The visit would see the signing of agreements "in the fields of energy, security, transport, education, and culture," the office said.
In a video shared by his office on Sunday, Zaidi also stated that Iraq intends through the tour to "reclaim its position and build its relations on the basis of mutual interests," adding.
"We will open new doors with Paris for cooperation, investment, and development,” the Iraqi premier said.
Meanwhile, the French presidency said on Saturday that with Iraq set to see the withdrawal of forces affiliated with the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) - of which France is a key member - Zaidi and Macron are expected to "renew their mutual commitment and joint determination to relentlessly continue fighting terrorism and prevent ISIS from regaining its activity, with full respect for each other's sovereignty," the Élysée said.
In the lead-up to the Iraqi prime minister’s Europe tour, Mazhar Mohammed Salih, a prominent economic adviser to the Iraqi government, framed the European tour as part of Iraq's pivot toward long-term investment partnerships built on the principle of "partnership, not aid" and "investment, not mere financing."
"The clearest message carried by the visit is that Iraq is not asking Europe to finance its future, but is inviting Europe to invest alongside it in Iraq's future," he said in remarks to INA.
On the sidelines of his meeting with Macron, Zaidi also visited the French Armed Forces Museum, where he was received by French Minister of the Armed Forces Catherine Vautrin in the presence of Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot.
After France, Zaidi is set to travel to Berlin to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, where "a set of dossiers and regional and international issues of common interest will be discussed," his office said.
