MOFA stresses the necessity of activating the Iraqi-Pakistan joint committee

Baghdad - INA 

Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein stressed, today, Friday, the necessity of activating the Iraqi-Pakistani joint committee.

A statement by the ministry, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), stated that "the Foreign Minister met his Pakistani counterpart Makhdoomshah Mahmud Qureshi in the work of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum, and they discussed ways to strengthen and develop bilateral relations between the two countries in issues of common interest, including the economic aspect, in a way that achieves the common interest of the two countries.".

Hussein indicated that "Pakistan is a key and important partner for Iraq, and the two countries have long-standing relations and common factors, including: confronting terrorism and extremism."

The statement added that "the two sides stressed the need to activate the Iraqi-Pakistani joint committee, and to expedite the completion of agreements and memoranda of understanding between the two countries," noting that "the two sides also discussed a number of files of joint cooperation in the field of energy, the issue of religious tourism and ways to facilitate granting entry visas to Pakistani visitors." Those wishing to visit the holy shrines in Iraq, because of their great importance to Muslims in the world, and they discussed activating a direct flight from Baghdad to Islamabad and back, and activating economic and commercial cooperation between the two countries.

For his part, the Pakistani Foreign Minister expressed "his country's aspiration for more joint cooperation with Iraq in all fields, the most important of which is cooperation in the field of combating terrorism and religious tourism."