French president, Iraq PM stress importance of fighting terrorism

French President Emmanuel Macron and Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi both highlighted the importance of the fight against terrorism following a meeting in Paris, a statement from Macron’s office said on Tuesday.

Macron hosted the meeting on Monday, which followed the French leader’s own trip to Iraq in September, when he expressed his support for Iraq’s sovereignty and said Iraq’s main challenges were Islamic State militants and foreign interference in its affairs.

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The statement from the French president’s office also said the two leaders had also welcomed French group Alstom’s plans to work on a Baghdad metro project.

Macron tweeted a picture of himself and al-Kadhimi as he added: "France continues its commitment to stand by Iraq in the fight against terrorism and in support of respect for its sovereignty. We will defeat evil at its roots. I would like to thank Aziz Mustafa Al-Kazemi for reviewing the initiative that we launched together a month after my visit to Baghdad."

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