Consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and Iraq at the level of the Deputy Ministers

11-09-2019

On September 11, 2019 Minsk hosted Consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and Iraq. At the consultations the Belarusian delegation was headed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrei Dapkiunas, the Iraqi delegation was led by the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nizar Issa Abdulhadi Al-Khirullah.

These were the first consultations between the Foreign Ministries of the two countries after the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq to Belarus in 2015.

During the consultations, the delegations have discussed in details a wide range of issues on bilateral agenda, as well as a possibility and specific steps to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries in different spheres.

The Deputies Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and Iraq noted an exceptional coordinating and encouraging role of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs in strengthening bilateral cooperation, especially through the specialized agencies.

The First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq pointed out a significant improvement of the situation in Iraq in the sphere of security in recent years and appearance of numerous new opportunities for the development of cooperation with foreign countries in the fields of business, social and communal infrastructure, education and tourism.

During the consultations, the Iraqi partners expressed their interest in establishing strong partnership with Belarus in the field of agricultural production, both in terms of importing Belarusian food products and exploring the possibility of producing Belarusian agricultural equipment in Iraq and establishing full-cycle agricultural production in Iraq based on advanced Belarusian technologies of breeding, growing and processing.

In accordance with the urgent national needs of the post-conflict reconstruction, the head of the Iraqi delegation expressed great demand for Belarusian public transport in Iraq. The parties agreed on the need to continue discussing this issue between the relevant institutions as a priority.

With a view to increase the awareness of Iraqi consumers about the export opportunities of Belarus and advantages of Belarusian goods and products, Nizar Issa Abdul-Hadi al-Khairallah recommended to use the capacity of the annual international exhibition in Baghdad.

During the discussion, the parties also paid special attention to the prospects of expanding cooperation in higher education (training of Iraqi students in Belarus), tourism and sports (organization of a football match between the national teams of Belarus and Iraq).

The Deputy Ministers emphasized the importance of a significant increase in the intensity of direct contacts between representatives of the government departments and business entities of the two countries and noted the expected visits to Minsk of the representatives of the leadership of the Iraqi ministries of trade and higher education.

During the consultations, a number of specific issues of practical interaction between the government departments of the two countries on civil and consular issues were discussed.

The Deputy Ministers noted the great role in the development of multifaceted bilateral cooperation played by the Belarusian Embassy in Ankara and Iraqi Embassy in Moscow, as well as the Honorary Consul of Belarus in Iraq, Majid Al-Qaysi.

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