UN Secretary-General, Iraqi PM discuss Baghdad's pressing issues on the phone

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Thursday received a phone call from the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. They discussed several issues, including overcoming issues Iraq is facing, according to a statement from Sudani’s office.

Sudani, who is on a trip to Saudi Arabia, told the UN chief that his country “praises the efforts of the United Nations in assisting Iraq in many humanitarian and development dossiers,” read the statement from Sudani’s office.  

The statement added Guterres “expressed his keen interest in the priorities put forward by the government in supporting all segments of society, making it a government capable of facing challenges. He also affirmed the aspiration of the United Nations to support Iraq in facing and overcoming many problems, foremost of which are the environment, water shortages and the effects of climate change.”

Water scarcity is the most prominent climate challenge facing Iraq at the moment, said the Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid during COP27 in Egypt on November 7. 

He added that drought and lack of rain in recent years have imposed “dangerous challenges” on Iraq’s agricultural and livestock wealth, and continue to present a serious threat to people’s livelihood and the economy of the country. 

Iraq is the fifth-most vulnerable nation in the world to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the UN.