BAGHDAD – Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is set to visit to Pakistani in coming few days for talks, focusing on enhancing bilateral relations.
It was revealed by Pakistani Ambassador Ahmed Amjad Ali on Saturday while talking to state-owned Al-Sabah newspaper
“Al-Kadhimi’s visit to Pakistan in the next few days aims to strengthen bilateral relations, and sign several agreements and memoranda of understanding in the fields of culture and trade between the two countries,” the ambassador said.
He did not share the exact date of the Iraqi prime minister’s tour while there is no official announcement from Iraq so far.
Ali told the publication that the value of the annual trade exchange between Iraq and Pakistan stands at $64 million.
He revealed that Pakistan is about to conclude several contracts with the Iraqi army in logistical support and pilot training.
The Pakistani envoy hailed Iraq for holding successful Baghdad summit, which concluded recently, for neighboring countries and termed it “a positive step.”
Last month, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein visited Pakistan for two days. In a joint press conference along with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, he said the situation in Afghanistan was a cause for concern due to the use of violence to resolve the conflict.
FM Hussein said the two foreign ministers had discussed the Afghan issue and were worried about the situation in the war-torn country.
“We are worried about the situation in Afghanistan because we see signals of using violence to solve the problem.
The peace process and meetings are continuing and we hope that the solution will be through the peace process and negotiation between the various political parties in Afghanistan.
“At the end, Afghanistan needs peace. Peace in Afghanistan will affect the neighbouring countries as well but violence in Afghanistan affects all of us,” the Iraqi foreign minister said.
He acknowledged that Pakistan was playing an important role in the matter, adding that he was confident “Pakistan wants to have peace in Afghanistan and believes in the various political groups coming together and working together to be partners.”
