– The alliance crystallized in 2019 with a tripartite consultation mechanism between the leaders of Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, before its actual momentum began a year later, its expansion later and the expected joining of the UAE and Bahrain.
– The Prime Minister of Iraq, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, in 2021, proposed naming him “the new Levant” without an official agreement between the countries regarding it, amid economic, security and political features that dominate it, an American welcome to the Arab alliance, and an Iranian appraisal of any effort that helps Iraq.

Today, Monday, the Arab Leaders Summit will be held in the Egyptian city of El Alamein, to constitute a new step in an expanding path pursued by a high-level Arab consultation mechanism that includes Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, after the UAE and Bahrain joined it, based on the basis of “confronting the challenges” that resulted from the first alliance of the three countries in 2019.

According to Anatolia’s monitoring, Cairo was the first stop of this alliance, which former Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi called the “New Levant” project on August 21, 2021, without an official agreement on that.

The actual development of the alliance began at an Egyptian-Jordanian-Iraqi tripartite summit held in 2020, then the meetings of Arab leaders followed between Aqaba, Baghdad and Abu Dhabi, amid a tyranny of economic, security and political concerns, and an American welcome and Iranian praise for every effort that helps Iraq.

The Arab region is witnessing security and economic crises, exacerbated by the repercussions of confronting the Corona pandemic since 2020, before it received a “bigger shock”, according to observers, with the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war in February 2022 and the shortage of energy and food supplies, which caused “negative” economic repercussions globally and in the Arab world.

According to official data of the participating countries, Anatolia monitors the features of this Arab alliance, the details of its development, the most prominent and its projects.

1- Cairo Summit 2019 .. the birth of the alliance

On March 24, 2019, Cairo hosted a tripartite Egyptian-Jordanian-Iraqi summit that included Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and then-Prime Minister of Iraq, Adel Abdul-Mahdi.

The summit discussed “ideas for enhancing cooperation, coordination and integration among the three countries, especially in the industrial, energy, reconstruction and infrastructure sectors (..) in light of delicate circumstances that the Arab nation is going through and unprecedented challenges.”

2- The New York Summit.. Review and Priorities

The second tripartite summit between Egypt, Jordan and Iraq was held on September 22, 2019 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, and brought together Sisi, King Abdullah and Al-Mahdi.

It discussed “the results of meetings held over a period of 6 months, and ways to enhance cooperation and political coordination, while continuing to give priority to cooperation in economic fields.” to face the challenges facing the region.

3- Amman Summit: A real launch and the emergence of the “New Levant”

On August 21, 2020, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kazemi, said, in an interview with the Washington Post, that he would “present the new Bilad al-Sham project, according to the European pattern, to the leaders of Egypt and Jordan,” at the first appearance of this term without consensus or agreement. Arabic about it so far.

Four days later, Al-Kazemi participated in a tripartite summit held in Amman on August 25, 2020, with the participation of the Egyptian President and the King of Jordan, which dealt with ways to enhance cooperation in areas including energy, electrical connectivity, infrastructure and food, in the context of facing “challenges that threaten stability in the region.”

Meetings continued at a ministerial level between the three countries, most notably on October 31, 2020, with the visit of Mustafa Madbouly, the Prime Minister of Egypt, at the head of a large delegation, to Iraq and to meet Al-Kazemi, and the signing of 15 memoranda in areas including transport, energy and electricity.

Madbouly talked about Egypt’s readiness to implement projects in the sectors of its home, infrastructure and housing, under the concept of the “oil for reconstruction” program.

4- Baghdad summit..American welcome and Iranian appreciation

On June 27, 2021, Baghdad hosted a tripartite summit that brought together Sisi and King Abdullah in the first visit by an Egyptian president to Iraq since Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and it dealt with “ways to launch a new phase of cooperation in light of unprecedented limitations.”

In 29 items, the final statement of the summit came, and included assurances, most notably security and intelligence coordination, the necessity of proceeding with the implementation of the Economic City, the electrical connection project and linking the gas transmission network between Iraq and Egypt via Jordan.

The day after the summit, the US State Department considered what had been an “important step in strengthening regional economic and security relations.”

On August 1, 2021, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh confirmed that “Tehran always welcomes everything that helps develop Iraq’s role, and supports any project that promotes peace in the region,” in response to a question about “Iran’s vision of the so-called new Levant project.” between Iraq, Jordan and Egypt.

5- Aqaba summit… the accession of the UAE and the launch of an economic initiative

On March 25, 2021, the Egyptian President, the King of Jordan, and Al-Kazemi met, and attended the summit for the first time, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and they discussed strengthening cooperation relations between the four countries in light of global conditions.

About two months after this meeting, and on May 29, 2022, Egypt, the UAE and Jordan launched an industrial partnership initiative between the three countries, and Bahrain joined them on July 25.

On June 6, 2022, the Iraqi News Agency quoted Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, that it had been agreed with Baghdad on the electrical connection and that the supply would start at the beginning of next year, without further details at the time.

6- El Alamein Summit: A quinquennial summit witnessing the accession of Bahrain

On Sunday, Al-Mamlaka TV reported that King Abdullah II of the country will participate in an Arab summit, hosted by Egypt, along with the UAE, Bahrain and Iraq.

Cairo 24, who is close to the Egyptian authorities, reported that the summit will be held on Monday, with the participation of the leaders of these countries, noting that Aqaba hosted a four-way summit last March, while the Kingdom of Bahrain joins this summit in the city of El Alamein. .

Anatolia