Iraq and Libya discuss joint cultural cooperation between the two countries

Baghdad - INA

The Charge d'Affairs of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq to the State of Libya, Ahmed Al-Sahaf, discussed today, Thursday, with the Minister of Culture and Knowledge Affairs, Mabrouka Toghi Othman, joint cultural cooperation between the two countries.

A statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) - stated that "the Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of the Republic of Iraq to the State of Libya, Ahmed Al-Sahaf, met with the Minister of Culture and Knowledge Affairs, Mabrouka Toghi Othman.".

The statement added that "the meeting discussed joint cultural cooperation between the Republic of Iraq and the State of Libya, and the two sides stressed the importance of activating inter-tourism between the two countries and brotherly peoples and the possibility of signing a comprehensive memorandum of understanding between the two sides.".

The statement continued, "Al-Sahaf presented the decision of the Council of Arab Ministers of Culture, which was held on December 7, and chose Baghdad as the capital of Arab culture for the year 2025," stressing that "choosing Baghdad as the capital of Arab tourism for the year 2025 came according to criteria set by the Arab Tourism Organization, and the decision was given Iraq's balance of policies, infrastructure and important sites in this field.".

Al-Sahaf stressed that Baghdad deserves this event, noting that "the great efforts made by the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to activate cultural diplomacy and build on soft power sources, and according to the priorities of the government program of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, all resulted in achieving this achievement.".

The statement continued, "The two sides discussed the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding between the two countries in the cultural field and exchanging expertise. They also discussed cultural and production industries in the fields of arts and theatre and hosted experts from Iraq in this field. They stressed the importance of cooperation between research and music centers between the two ministries of culture, and the opening of cultural centers to support cultural diversity, development, training and grants for cultural studies.
 
" The statement concluded, "Mabrouka Toghi, in turn, confirmed her readiness to conclude memoranda of understanding between the two countries," indicating "her readiness to host the Iraqi-Libyan Cultural Week in Tripoli with the participation of a number of those concerned in this aspect from professors, artistic groups, poets, writers and heritage experts."