BAGHDAD, Aug 1 (NNN-NINA) – Iraq, yesterday, discussed with the visiting secretary-general of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), ways to strengthen bilateral relations in various fields.
During a meeting with the GCC chief, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, Iraqi President, Abdul Latif Rasheed, expressed Iraq’s desire to establish strong political, social, administrative, and diplomatic ties with other countries, according to a statement by the Iraqi Presidency.
For his part, Albudaiwi expressed his full confidence that relations between Iraq and the Arab Gulf states will witness positive developments, in terms of electricity interconnections, trade exchange, and other areas, according to the statement.
Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani, also met with Albudaiwi on bilateral ties in various fields, especially in security coordination and drug control, al-Sudani’s media office said.
At a joint press conference, after meeting with Albudaiwi, Iraqi Foreign Minister, Fuad Hussein, stressed his country’s strong ties with the GCC states, saying, Iraqi foreign policy is “based on developing relations.”
Meanwhile, Albudaiwi asserted the GCC countries’ keenness to ensure Iraq’s security and prosperity, and hailed Iraq’s major role in dealing with regional and international issues.
Earlier in the day, Albudaiwi, heading a delegation, arrived in Baghdad on a visit aimed at improving relations between the Gulf states and Iraq.
His visit came, a day after Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s visit to Baghdad, for talks with Iraqi leaders, in an attempt to end border demarcation and joint oil field disputes.
After 2003, Iraq witnessed a remarkable development in relations with the Gulf states, which reopened their embassies that had been closed, following Iraq’s invasion, under its former leader, Saddam Hussein, of Kuwait in 1990.
