Iraq’s ambassador in Riyadh: Al-Kazemi’s visit to Saudi Arabia will be scheduled soon
Iraq’s ambassador in Riyadh: Al-Kazemi’s visit to Saudi Arabia will be scheduled soon
08/24/2020 08:14:36
(Baghdad: Al Furat News) The Iraqi ambassador in Riyadh, Qahtan Al-Janabi, confirmed, on Monday, that the visit of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be scheduled soon.
Al-Janabi said in a press statement, “We expect the visit of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazimi to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to be scheduled in the near future, to be a new start for relations between the two countries,” noting that “the Iraqi embassy in Riyadh is in contact with the Saudi Foreign Ministry to determine the deadline for this visit,” There is keenness on both sides to make the visit a success and move forward in developing relations. ”
He pointed out, “The desire of the Chairman of the Coordination Council on the Saudi side, Majid Al-Qasabi, to visit Iraq, after his meeting at Riyadh airport to bid farewell to the Iraqi ministerial delegation, which visited the Kingdom within the framework of heading to exchange visits and strengthen the relationship by the two parties.”
He added, “There is a trend between the governments of Iraq and the Kingdom, provided that the relationship is strategic, strong and solid. Therefore, the first visit of an Iraqi official from the current government was Minister of Finance Ali Abdul Amir Allawi, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Coordination Council on the Iraqi side to Saudi Arabia last Ramadan. Then another visit came to him in preparation for the visit of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi to the Kingdom, accompanied by 5 ministers, the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers and a number of officials to hold meetings of the third session of the Council.
And that “the volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached in the years 2018 and 2019 the limits of one billion dollars, after it did not exceed a few million dollars before 2014,” stressing that “the ambition of the two countries is to increase this number in the coming years, through the agreements that reached their number.” To about 20 agreements and memoranda of understanding, such as avoiding double taxation, protecting the investor, and land and sea transport, to secure this commercial and economic partnership and facilitate the entry of goods to and from both sides. ”
Al-Janabi explained, ”
The ambassador expressed, “There is a desire from Iraq to open more than one border crossing with the Saudi side, similar to other countries to facilitate the movement of citizens and goods between the two sides, because the land border between Iraq and Saudi Arabia is more than 800 kilometers and it is the second longest border with a country after Iran,” There are about 4 provinces adjacent to it, “indicating that” Saudi Arabia has no objection to opening more than one outlet, but there will be a feasibility study for it after the opening of the Arar port. ”
The Iraqi ambassador in Riyadh continued: “Saudi Arabia has a desire to invest in Iraq, especially in the field of energy, as they are one of the largest oil exporters in (OPEC) and possess the largest oil reserves in the world. They agreed in recent meetings to study some important projects, including a company investment. (Aramco) Saudi Arabia for the (Artawi) gas project, north of Basra, for its experience in this field, and investment in (Mansouriya al-Jabal) gas in Diyala province and gas (crutch) in Anbar to generate electric power, and the meeting with (Aquar Power), which is one of the giant companies in energy “Renewable energy, solar energy production, water desalination, an understanding to invest in this field in Iraq, and teams from these companies will come to study and evaluate.”
“There is a desire from the giant agricultural investment in Saudi Arabia, the Salik Company, to invest in the Samawah desert and the Anbar desert, especially in areas that have abundant and shallow underground water,” he stressed.
Al-Janabi warned that “there is a memorandum of understanding signed between the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity, for the purpose of linking the Gulf through Kuwait,” noting that “there is a clear development in this matter and this work will start soon, as it is hoped that it will be completed within a year to solve The electricity crisis in Iraq, given that the six Gulf states have an abundance of electric energy, and the peak hours in them differ from what exists in Iraq, and through this connection, Iraq will not pay any sums, but rather its financing will be from the outputs of the Kuwait Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq, which was held Years ago”.
He pointed out that “the two countries have made great strides in security cooperation between them more than in other fields, since since the first moments of the establishment of the Coordinating Council, the Security and Political Committee was formed, which was one of the eight committees in this Council, and an understanding occurred between the Iraqi and Saudi security services, and they succeeded in exchanging intelligence information.” , Which led to the arrest of some terrorist cells, and there are mutual meetings to preserve security and stability between the two countries, as “their security is common and there is constant keenness to preserve it through the exchange of information and the need not to penetrate the borders by saboteurs or smugglers, and the Kingdom sends a message that The security and stability of Iraq is the security and stability of the region. ”
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