Baghdad The Ambassador, Dr. Hisham Al-Alawi, Head of the Department of Asia and Australia, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met with the Head of the Iraqi delegation participating in the Conference on Combating the Financing of Terrorism, which will be held in the capital, New Delhi, for the period from 18-19 November 2022, Ambassador Asuf Saeed, Undersecretary of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs in the Ministry building.
Saeed praised the strength of the historical relations between the two countries, stressing his aspiration to expand cooperation in all fields in order to achieve prosperity and well-being for both friendly peoples.
For his part, Ambassador Al-Alawi affirmed his country’s keenness to strengthen the Iraqi-Indian relations at all levels, and that his visit to India is his first and reflects interest in consolidating and advancing bilateral relations to achieve common interests.
The two sides discussed the ongoing preparations for the visit of a parliamentary delegation to India to discuss ways of joint parliamentary cooperation, ways to enhance security cooperation between the two countries, and the upcoming visit of an Indian trade delegation to Iraq, in addition to the importance of holding training courses for employees of Iraqi ministries to raise the level of capabilities and skills.
During the meeting, the importance of activating the work of the Iraqi-Indian joint committee was also discussed, and the possibility of increasing the rate of oil imports from Iraq to India to meet the local need for consumption, and benefiting from the pioneering Indian experience in the field of using renewable energy. The two sides also discussed the possibility of increasing the number of scholarships for Iraqi students on scholarships to Indian universities, and seeking to sign a memorandum of cooperation between the Institute of Foreign Service and its Indian counterpart in developing the capabilities and skills of the employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and employees of other ministries. Emphasizing the importance of strengthening cooperation in the private sector between the two countries and cooperation in the health sector between them, given India’s advanced capabilities in the health sector, medical education and hospital management; and the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding regarding exempting holders of diplomatic and service passports from entry visas to the two countries.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency