Baghdad, Amman push cooperation on economy and environment
The meeting, held during the UN's Third Ocean Conference, included Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Fuad Hussein and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi and centered on boosting trade, aligning economic policies, and expanding environmental cooperation—especially in water conservation and biodiversity. Rashid urged joint efforts on climate goals and sustainable development.
رئيس الجمهورية @LJRashid يلتقي جلالة الملك عبدالله الثاني ابن الحسين، على هامش مؤتمر الأمم المتحدة الثالث للمحيطات في مدينة نيس الفرنسية, ويبحثان تعزيز العلاقات بين البلدين الشقيقين وسبل تطويرها في المجالات كافة، وتوسيع التعاون والتبادل التجاري بما يخدم المصالح المشتركة للشعبين. pic.twitter.com/QV6P322UAt
— رئاسة جمهورية العراق (@IraqiPresidency) June 8, 2025
The leaders also discussed regional stability and reaffirmed support for Palestinian statehood, calling for urgent humanitarian aid to Gaza. King Abdullah backed stronger Iraq-Jordan cooperation, urging implementation of resolutions from the recent Arab League summit in Baghdad.
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In my academic work on transgenerational trauma (Transgenerational and Genocidal Trauma), I have shown that violence does not merely take lives. It embeds itself within the collective psyche, leading to a cultural paralysis that can persist for generations. Children who survived ISIS captivity or were born into it suffer from severe psychological and developmental disorders. Women endure complex post-traumatic stress, but systematic, long-term therapeutic care remains grossly insufficient, in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and abroad. This too is a failure of the international community. While words of sympathy are often offered, sustained funding and real support remain elusive. Genocide is not completed solely by the initial crime. It is finalized by the silence, the inaction, and the abdication of responsibility that follow. Even today, there are no adequate educational opportunities, no legal guarantees for returnees, and no strategic support for Yazidi institutions. 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What is needed now is not more commemorative gestures, but bold political action: - sustained funding for psychosocial support programs in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region; - robust legal protections for minorities, enshrined in the Iraqi constitution and enforced through international monitoring; - clear diplomatic pressure on Baghdad to stabilize Shingal and implement a structured return program with guaranteed security; - empowerment of the Yazidi community, particularly in education and cultural preservation, to safeguard Yazidi identity and ensure its future. Trauma does not end with a ceasefire. It ends with healing Healing is not a secondary concern. It is a prerequisite for peace and development. Without psychological stabilization, there can be no social recovery. Therapy is not merely humanitarian, it is a political imperative. Eleven years after the genocide, the Yazidi people remain under existential threat, not just from violence, but from neglect, bureaucracy, and political indifference. If the international community truly believes in the principle of 'never again,' then the time for action is now. The Yazidis exemplify how fragile cultures can be destroyed not only by bullets and bombs, but by apathy. If they disappear, the loss will not be Iraq's alone, it will be humanity's. The genocide is not over. It continues through political paralysis, cultural annihilation, and inherited trauma. The Kurdistan Regional Government must also do more. It must set aside political conflicts with Baghdad and stand firmly with the Yazidi people, in words and in deeds. Yazidis must hear and see: You are not alone. What we need now is not another minute of silence, but deliberate, determined policies that support reconstruction, ensure security, and promote healing. Those who fail to protect today will bear the burden of responsibility tomorrow. Dr. Jan Ilhan Kizilhan is a psychologist, author and publisher, an expert in psychotraumatology, trauma, terror and war, transcultural psychiatry, psychotherapy and migration. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.
