The Minister for Defence and the Iraqi Prime Minister confirm their commitment to continue working together in the military and industrial sphere

The Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, greets a soldier during the second day of her visit to Iraq

During the meeting, the Iraqi prime minister expressed his gratitude to Robles for the presence of the Spanish armed forces and for the country's position on the situation in Gaza. Both leaders agreed on the need for a ceasefire and a two-state solution.

"We agree that the two countries will continue to work together in the military and industrial spheres, which is also important for them," said the defence minister after the meeting ended. "We are currently working on two missions here in Iraq with a single objective: to help peace in this whole area of the world to develop," she added.

For the past 10 years, Spain has shown its commitment to peace and stability in the country through the international coalition against DAESH (Operation Inherent Resolve) and in the NATO Training Mission (NMI). These deployments together involve some 370 Spanish military personnel.

In this regard, Robles pointed out that during the meeting with the prime minister they discussed the continuity of the international coalition's mission as the Iraqi government understands that "DAESH, which was the coalition's main objective, has been defeated". This process of finalisation, for which there is no estimated date, will be "the outcome of dialogue and there will be an organised transition", the minister added.

"There is awareness that there cannot be an abrupt end, but a calm and peaceful one, leaving the doors open for the future and always working bilaterally," said the Defence Secretary, who confirmed that the NATO Training Mission would continue.

Spain is the largest contributor to the NATO mission, with 183 military personnel, which since May 2023 has been under the command of Lieutenant General José Antonio Agüero, with whom Robles met the day before. The mission, which began in October 2018, is tasked with advising the Government of Iraq on security matters, and also assists in capacity building for the protection of civilians, women and children.

Meeting with the head of the RIO

After the meeting with the Prime Minister, Robles went to NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) Headquarters at Union Base III, where she met with the head of Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR), Major General Joel "JB" Vowell.

She toured the working quarters of the barracks and addressed a few words to the contingent, in which she urged them "not to lower their guard" at this time of great instability in the area due to the worrying situation in Gaza.

"We are living through very complicated times in the world, including here in this area. The fact that you are here is one of the best manifestations of Spain's commitment to peace, because in the end there is nothing more important and more noble than what you are doing, which is working for peace," said Robles. For his part, the Chief of the Defence Staff (JEMAD) thanked the Spanish troops for their "magnificent work", which has achieved the desired result, "which was to prevent DAESH from taking over this country".

Before the end of the day, the minister and the Spanish delegation had lunch with the contingent, followed by a visit to the Special Operations Tactical Group.

Robles travelled to Iraq accompanied by the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral General Teodoro López Calderón, the Secretary General for Defence Policy, Admiral Juan Francisco Martínez Núñez, and the Commander of the Operations Command, Lieutenant General Francisco Braco.

Non official translation