FM Qureshi reaches Iraq on three-day visit

Dunya News

The visit is taking place at the invitation of Iraqs foreign minister Fuad Hussein.

BAGHDAD (Dunya News) - Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday arrived in the capital of Iraq, where he will hold detailed discussions with the leadership on bilateral cooperation and on unity of Muslim Ummah.

The foreign minister was received at Baghdad International Airport by Iraq’s Deputy Foreign Minister Dr. Saleh Al-Tamimi, Iraqi ambassador in Pakistan Hamid Lafta, Pakistan’s ambassador-designate to Iraq Ahmed Amjad Aliand senior Iraqi foreign ministry officials.

The visit is taking place at the invitation of Iraq’s foreign minister Fuad Hussein.

The meetings will focus on promoting bilateral cooperation in various fields, including bilateral relations, trade, investment, education, agriculture, information technology and defense.

During the visit, FM Qureshi will review cooperation between the two countries in multilateral organizations, in particular the United Nations, its subsidiary organizations, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

He will also exchange views on problems concerning Muslim Ummah, as well as global and regional issues of mutual interest.

Foreign Minister Qureshi will also call on the leadership of Iraq and confer with senior Iraqi Ministers on bilateral matters pertaining to respective areas of cooperation.

The issues pertaining to the management and well-being of thousands of Pakistani pilgrims visiting sacred sites in Iraq will also be discussed.

Pakistan and Iraq enjoy long-standing fraternal ties rooted in shared faith, values and culture. The bilateral relations benefit from shared understanding and similarity of views on a number of regional and global issues.

The two countries continue to collaborate closely to enhance bilateral cooperation in diverse fields. In addition to growing bilateral political and defense ties, the two countries recently signed an agreement on cooperation between their Foreign Service Academies in April.

The visit of Foreign Minister Qureshi comes in the backdrop of a number of ministerial-level visits from both sides in the past few months, which signify the importance accorded by both countries to augmenting bilateral relationship for mutual benefit.

The visit is expected to add further momentum to the positive trajectory of brotherly ties between Pakistan and Iraq.