Maj. Gen. Rasool: PM Al-Sudani confirms developing Air Defense in arming

INA-  Baghdad

The spokesman for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Major General Yehia Rasool, announced Sunday, in a press conference attended by the reporter of the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that "Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani met with the Armament Committee at the Ministry of Defense to consider contracting mechanisms in light of the priorities studied, where he stressed the need for air defense to progress in arming and equipping because of the importance of this Force."

He pointed out that "Commander-in-Chief Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, also received the commander of the NATO mission in Iraq, General Giovanni M. Iannucci, to review the mission's tasks within the framework of security and military cooperation with Iraq, which includes advice, training and developing the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces," explaining that "Commander-in-Chief Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani, as part of his activities, conducted an official visit to the Kingdom of Jordan and discussed with the King of Jordan bilateral relations and stressed the continuation of coordination and consultation between the two countries in order to achieve the interests of the two countries."
 
"Al-Sudani also paid a visit to the State of Kuwait and discussed with the Kuwaiti Prime Minister the establishment of real partnerships between the two countries, which clearly reflects the common interests between the two countries, and also made an official visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.

He also pointed out that "Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani visited yesterday the province of Salah al-Din and the site of the Speicher crime and the city of Samarra," pointing out that "he also held phone calls with the French and Russian presidents and met with a number of ambassadors of countries inside Iraq."

He continued, "The most important activities of the Minister of Defense from November 13 until now are visiting Essaouira Air Base and reviewing the stages of completion, and continuing meetings with the families of the martyrs and the wounded, in addition to directing the Directorate of Media and Moral Guidance to receive the requests of the families of the martyrs, as well as visiting the wounded in Al-Hussein Military Hospital, visiting the headquarters of the Air Force and reviewing the infrastructure."

"The defense minister met with his Dutch counterpart and discussed the contribution of the Netherlands to the NATO mission and the international coalition to support Iraq," he said, noting that he "also visited Nineveh province and conducted an inspection tour to see the security situation and law enforcement, and held a meeting with the commander of Nineveh operations and all leaders of the security services in the presence of the governor."