Bilateral meeting between FM Hussein and his Turkish counterpart

INA - BAGHDAD

The spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, confirmed on Tuesday, the start of the bilateral meeting between Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, who arrived this evening in Baghdad.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein will hold a press conference with his Turkish counterpart after 8:00 pm today.

In his statement to INA, Al-Sahhaf said, "The Iraqi Foreign Minister proposed widen the discussion committee between the two sides to include all sectoral committees between the two countries, and he welcomed the expected visit of the Turkish Minister of Trade."

The two sides stressed that water management is an important file for both sides, and it is necessary to discuss it in depth. The security file was discussed in detail between the two sides in addition to strengthening cooperation mechanisms in this regard.

FM Hussein indicated that a high-level delegation headed by the Iraqi Oil Minister is conducting serious talks in Turkey at this time, and the start of dialogue on cooperation at the regional and international levels at the negotiating table there.

Al-Sahhaf pointed out that "the foreign minister raised the issue of visas to Turkey and pointed out that there are about 700,000 Iraqis residing there. He also pointed out the presence of about 850 Turkish companies operating in Iraq. He stressed the importance of strengthening economic and development cooperation in the service of the two countries."

The Turkish Foreign Minister expressed his happiness at visiting Iraq and stressed the importance of bilateral relations and expressed the priority for the success of his visit, which is the first visit of its kind for him to Turkey's neighboring countries.

He pointed out that "the Turkish minister expressed his hope to conclude a permanent and comprehensive agreement that enhances common interests and links the files under discussion between the ministerial authorities in the two countries and in various fields."

The two ministers discussed working jointly on "the issue of some extremists' propagation of so-called Islamophobia to stand against any position that disdains Islamic sanctities bilaterally and within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. It was proposed to form a joint coordination committee to confront the phenomenon of Islamophobia so that positions do not turn in a direction that reinforces hatred more."