Saturday, December 07, 2013

Pakistan wants strong trade ties with Iraq, says president

ISLAMABAD: President Mamnoon Hussain on Friday said Pakistan wanted to further strengthen economic ties with Iraq and emphasised on the need for exploiting the huge potential for trade and commerce to the mutual benefit of people of both countries.

The president expressed these views in his meeting with Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Osama Abdul Aziz al-Nujaifi at the Presidency.

He said Pakistan and Iraq were intertwined in the eternal bonds of religion, brotherhood and culture. These bonds of brotherhood could be strengthened through parliamentary friendship, he added.

The president said 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.

Mamnoon said the visit of the 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 the existing bilateral relations and bringing the two brotherly countries closer.

Osama Abdul Aziz al-Nujafi thanked the president and the government of Pakistan for their hospitality and said Iraq high valued its relations with Pakistan and wanted to further boost them through enhanced economic and parliamentary cooperation.

The speaker was accompanied by Iraqi members of parliament Jamal al-Gilani and Human Baqir Hamoudi. Iraqi Ambassador Dr Rushdi Mahmood al-Ani was also present.

National Assembly (NA) Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, NA Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi, MNA Syed Imran Ahmad Shah, NA Secretary Karamat Hussain Niazi, Secretary to the President Ahmad Farooq and Press Secretary to the President Saba Mohsin Raza were present at the meeting. app

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

Back to Top