BAGHDAD, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi arrived in Baghdad on Monday for talks with Iraqi leaders on strengthening trilateral cooperation.
Iraqi President Barham Salih received the Egyptian and Jordanian foreign ministers, in the presence of Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, at the al-Salam Palace in Baghdad's Green Zone, according to a statement by the president's media office.
During their meeting, Salih stressed Iraq's keenness to develop its relations with Egypt and Jordan at all levels through the trilateral cooperation mechanism reached during the summits among the three countries over the past years, especially in the political, economic, and security fields, the statement said.
Salih noted that such cooperation would reduce regional tensions and pave the way for regional cooperation frameworks based on economic and trade cooperation.
During his meeting with the visiting foreign ministers, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi highlighted the need to jointly confront common challenges under the current situation, according to a separate statement by al-Kadhimi's media office.
The meeting "discussed security and defense cooperation against terrorist organizations, and stressed the need to continue coordination and exchange experiences and information in this regard," said the statement.
Such security cooperation would ensure a safe environment for economic prosperity and promote sustainable development to serve the peoples of the three countries and the entire region, it added.
Mohammed al-Halbousi, speaker of the Iraqi parliament, also met with Shoukry and Safadi and discussed with them the ways to strengthen cooperation in the political, security, and economic fields within the framework of the trilateral cooperation mechanism to meet the regional challenges, according to a statement by al-Halbousi's office.
During a joint press conference with his Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts, Fuad Hussein said the two ministers' visit to Iraq came "in the context of continuous discussions on issues related to the three countries and the region."
The three foreign ministers also discussed the repercussions of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on the region.
The Middle East region is facing both the challenge of coronavirus and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Hussein told reporters.
The leaders of the three countries have been working to enhance economic and trade cooperation over the past few years, with three summits held since 2019. ?