Pakistan desirous of strong trade ties with Iraq: President
ISLAMABAD, Dec 6 (APP): President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday said Pakistan desires to further strengthen economic ties with Iraq and emphasized the need for exploiting the existing huge potential for trade and commerce
to the mutual benefit of people of both countries. The President expressed these views in his meeting with Speaker of Iraqi Council of Representatives, Osama Abdul Aziz Al-Nujaifi at the Aiwan-e-Sadr here. The President said Pakistan and Iraq were intertwined in eternal bonds of religion, brotherhood and culture and added that these bonds of brotherhood could further be strengthened and enhanced through parliamentary friendship.
The President opined that parliamentary cooperation could play a significant role in cementing bilateral ties and urged the need for frequent exchange of parliamentary delegations to underpin bilateral cooperation besides promoting contacts at the levels of parliament and people.
The President expressed confidence that visit of Iraqi parliamentary delegation would provide ample opportunities to the parliamentarians of the two countries to exchange views, share experiences and explore further possibilities of parliamentary and economic cooperation. He expressed hope that the visit would prove instrumental in strengthening existing bilateral relations and bringing the two brotherly countries further closer. Osama Abdul Aziz Al-Nujafi, Speaker, Iraqi Council of Representatives thanked the President and government of Pakistan for warm hospitality and said that Iraq values high its brotherly relations with Pakistan and wanted to further boost the existing relations through enhanced economic and parliamentary cooperation. The Speaker was accompanied by Iraqi members of parliament Jamal Al-Gilani and Human Baqir Hamoudi. Iraqi Ambassador to Pakistan Dr Rushdi Mahmood Al-Ani was also present. From Pakistan side, those present during the meeting included Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Speaker National Assembly, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Deputy Speaker NA, Syed Imran Ahmad Shah, MNA, Karamat Hussain Niazi, Secretary National Assembly, Ahmad Farooq, Secretary to the President and Saba Mohsin Raza, Press Secretary to the President.
