Qureshi reaches Iraq on three-day official visit

BAGHDAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Friday arrived in Baghdad, where he will hold detailed discussions with the leadership on bilateral cooperation and on unity of the 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 Ali, and 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 defence.

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

He will also exchange views on problems concerning Muslim Ummah, as well as global and regional issues of mutual interest. 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 defence ties, the two countries recently signed an agreement on cooperation between their foreign service academies in April.