Iraq News Now

Observers stressed the importance of the meeting held between Iraqi

President Barham Salih and Egyptian President Abd al-Fatah al-Sisi on the

sidelines of the Arab-European summit in Egypt.

President Salih lauded the solid and historic brotherly bonds

between Egypt and Iraq and expressed his appreciation for Egypt’s efforts to

support Iraq across all levels, according to Egyptian reports.

He asserted Iraq’s commitment to strengthening

frameworks of cooperation with Egypt, further promoting relations toward

broader prospects and benefiting from Egyptian expertise in various areas in

the coming period.

The Iraqi president valued Egypt’s key role in enhancing the

mechanisms of joint Arab action in the face of the current crises and

challenges in the region. He considered it a model to be emulated in preserving

stability and improving the developmental, economic and social situations in

the Arab world.

The two presidents exchanged views on a number of Arab and

regional issues of mutual interest. They agreed on the need to hold intensive

coordination to counter the challenges facing the region and to realize the

aspirations of its peoples for peace and stability.

For his part, Egypt's Sisi once again congratulated Salih on

assuming his post last October, following elections that were held in a democratic

and transparent atmosphere.

He added that the elections reflected the belief of all segments

of the Iraqi people in the importance of completing all milestones of the

country’s political process, so as to fulfill the ambition and aspirations of the

Iraqi people for security, stability and prosperity in their future.

Sisi confirmed that he values the profound and firm Egyptian-Iraqi

relations, which are reinforced by affinity as well as social interaction

between the two peoples.

He reiterated Egypt’s commitment to promoting frameworks of

cooperation toward new and diverse prospects in the various political,

economic, trade and cultural areas according to the needs of the Iraqi people,

particularly reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

Sisi emphasized the fundamentals of Egypt’s foreign policy on

Iraq, namely supporting the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of

Iraq. He underscored Egypt’s confidence in the ability of the Iraqi national

institutions to overcome all impediments and to form a government that

represents the entire spectrum of the Iraqi people and reflects Iraq’s national

identity.

This will contribute to focusing attention on improving the living

conditions of the Iraqi citizens and on preserving Iraq’s security and

stability to prevent the re-emergence of terrorist organizations.

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