Maintaining security will also entail ensuring economic stability. After years of conducting unconstitutional oil sales and pocketing the revenue, the Kurdistan Regional Government is on the verge of bankruptcy. This is a result of the corruption of a few Kurdish officials and their families. My government intends to redress the inequitable distribution of our national resources to discourage corruption in the Kurdish region, and protect the people there and in the whole of Iraq.

Just as Iraq united to defeat Daesh over the past three years, we now need to apply that same unity to our next challenges: reconstruction and building a democratic country where each citizen enjoys full access to the protection of the state.

I was elected prime minister in 2014 under incredibly difficult circumstances: A third of the country was overrun by terrorists, the economy was struggling, people were divided by sectarianism and relations with the wider world were strained. We have made great strides. In addition to defeating Daesh, we expect to achieve real gross domestic product growth of 2.9 percent in 2018. This year we were able to issue two international financing bonds. But restoring services to cities and rebuilding communities is not something Iraq can achieve on its own. We will need investment and financing to ensure that we not only recover, but prosper.

For the sake of all Iraqi citizens, we cannot allow the seeds of discord to take root again. I urge the leadership in Iraqi Kurdistan to come to its senses. Iraq cannot and will not recognize unilateral, unconstitutional actions taken by a few against the will of the nation. Personal profiteering must be put aside to ensure national prosperity. On behalf of the people of Iraq, I call on the Kurdish Regional Government to acknowledge the authority of the Constitution and to enter dialogue on this basis.

The federal government of Iraq seeks continued support and cooperation from our international partners. For now, we urge regional powers and other outsiders not to interfere in our affairs. Iraq must be able to demonstrate its coming of age by using democratic structures to solve internal disputes. In the medium term, the international community can transition their support from security-based to economic-based. Initiatives that build trusted, efficient and democratic forms of local governance across Iraq, including the Kurdish region, are crucial. The fair distribution of resources must form the bedrock of our approach.

Achieving this as one Iraq, with a united vision of our place in the world, is best for our stability. And a stable Iraq is what is best for the stability of the region and the world.