Antonio Guterres: UN chief lands in Iraq for his first visit in six years

 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres landed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in Iraq for his first visit in six years in a show of "solidarity with the people and the democratic institutions of Iraq" after a long political crisis in the country.

He even expressed his confidence that the people of Iraq can overcome the difficulties and challenges they still encounter "through an open and inclusive dialogue."

The UN chief's last visit to the country was six years ago, in the spring of 2017. This time, he is expected to meet with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Wednesday, in addition to numerous representatives of women's and youth rights groups.

Guterres will make a trip to a camp for displaced people in the north of Iraq on Thursday, before going to Irbil to meet with representatives of the regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan.

He is then expected to travel to Qatar for the fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5).

From March 5 to 9, over five days of the summit in Doha, world leaders will gather with the private sector, parliamentarians, civil society, and young people to raise new pledges of support, advance new ideas, and encourage delivery on agreed commitments - in order to address numerous LDC-specific challenges and prompt global recovery.

The world's Least Developed Countries urgently require bold investments in health, education, and social protection systems to deliver Sustainable Development Goals by the end of this decade.