Pakistan and Iraq have agreed to strengthen their bilateral ties and promote cooperation across various fields.
During a joint press conference, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein announced signing two memoranda of understanding (MoUs). One MoU pertains to visa waivers for diplomatic and official passport holders, while the other aims to foster cultural cooperation between the two nations.
Bhutto-Zardari, who is on an official visit to Baghdad, highlighted the objective of his visit to strengthen relations and emphasized the contributions of both Iraq and Pakistan to regional peace. He wanted to enhance economic relations and transform fraternal ties into mutually beneficial cooperation.
Acknowledging Iraq as a true friend of Pakistan, Bhutto-Zardari commended the resilience and determination of the Iraqi nation in combating terrorism. He stressed the importance of rebuilding and strengthening both countries, not only in defense cooperation but also through progressive nation-building efforts.
The foreign minister emphasized the need to enhance people-to-people contact, particularly between the private sector, media, academia, and researchers.
During the press conference, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hussein affirmed the strong relations between Iraq and Pakistan and mentioned that defense cooperation was discussed during their meeting. He also hinted at the signing of an MoU to facilitate Pakistani visitors to the holy places in Iraq in the near future.
In a separate meeting with Iraqi President Dr. Abdul Latif Rashid, Bhutto-Zardari discussed expanding mutually beneficial cooperation and taking the relations between Pakistan and Iraq to new heights. They highlighted the importance of sharing expertise in areas such as water, agriculture, defense cooperation, and bilateral trade.
The Iraqi President expressed his desire to consolidate relations with Pakistan and learn from Pakistan’s experiences in combating extremism and terrorism. He praised the unity of Iraqis and the valor of their security forces in defeating terrorist groups like ISIS.
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