President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan received President of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid on November 22 in Yerevan.
President Khachaturyan and President Abdul Latif Rashid held a one-on-one meeting followed by an enlarged-format meeting.
President of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid arrived in Armenia on an official visit on November 21. The Iraqi President will also meet with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan.
Iraq is an important and trusted partner for Armenia in the Middle East, President Vahagn Khachaturyan told President of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid in Yerevan at a joint press conference.
“Your visit is indeed a historic one, because you are the first Iraqi president to pay an official visit to Armenia since the establishment of diplomatic relations. I am sure that your visit will open a new chapter in the Armenian-Iraqi relations, and will intensify the multi-sectoral cooperation between the friendly states,” Khachaturyan said.
President Khachaturyan was pleased to note that Armenia’s relations with Arab countries have been developing in an atmosphere of mutual trust and warm friendship ever since Armenia regained independence.
“Bilateral agenda is rather comprehensive and includes numerous areas of cooperation, from trade and economic relations up to educational-cultural, humanitarian and information technologies,” the Armenian President said, adding that the rich past of Armenian-Arab historic-cultural interactions and the presence of the Armenian community in Iraq with a history of centuries are the solid foundation for dynamic development of relations.
“The Armenian nation is grateful to the friendly people of Iraq, especially for receiving the Armenian Genocide survivors and giving them shelter,” Khachaturyan said, thanking the Iraqi government for its caring attitude towards the Armenian-Iraqis. “Iraq is an important and trusted partner for Armenia in the Middle East.”
He added that Armenia is greatly interested in developing the bilateral agenda with Iraq, especially in the trade-economic area.
“We had productive talks with Mr. President Abdul Latif Rashid, during which we discussed a number of issues of mutual interest,” Khachaturyan said.
The presidents expressed certainty that trade volumes can be increased. They also attached importance to the Armenian-Iraqi intergovernmental meeting on economic cooperation that was held in September in Baghdad.
The presidents also discussed cooperation in areas such as agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure development, food and light industry, education, science and culture.
Cooperation in high technologies and digitization was highlighted. “In this regard I said that Armenia is ready to convey to the Iraqi side its successful experience of many years in this sector,” the Armenian President said.
The Armenian and Iraqi Presidents reiterated mutual readiness to strengthen interstate relations.
Khachaturyan said he presented to his Iraqi counterpart Abdul Latif Rashid the Crossroads of Peace project at their meeting on November 22 in Yerevan.
Speaking at a joint press conference with the Iraqi president, the Armenian president said they discussed issues of partnership around regional and international matters.
“We emphasized the need for dialogue around regional security environment and joining efforts in conditions of the processes taking place in the international arena and the resulting challenges. I presented to my respected counterpart the Crossroads of Peace project developed by the Armenian government,” Khachaturyan said.
He said that Armenia is interested in the unblocking of regional economic and transport connections based on the principles of sovereignty, equality, jurisdiction and reciprocity.
During the meeting the presidents also attached importance to strengthening cooperation as part of fighting all manifestations of international terrorism, and making joint efforts aimed at countering illegal migration.
Abdul Latif Rashid said his visit to Armenia is aimed at strengthening the cooperation in the political, cultural, economic and tourism sectors.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan, the Iraqi president described his visit to Armenia as a ‘historic’ trip.
“This is the first visit by an Iraqi president to Armenia, that’s why I consider this to be a historic visit. I am grateful to Armenia for the hospitality and warm reception,” the Iraqi president said.
He said that Armenia and Iraq have very strong geographic, cultural and social ties. “We are proud of the Armenian community of Iraq. Their coexistence with the Iraqi people comes from very early times,” President Abdul Latif Rashid said.
The Iraqi president said his country is now addressing the reforms of the service sector and it needs support from the international community, including from friendly countries like Armenia.
He said that there is great potential for trade cooperation with Armenia. The president also called for establishing direct air connection between Armenia and Iraq to contribute to an increase in mutual visits.
