Foreign Minister Meets his Iranian Counterpart

Foreign Minister Mr. Mohamad A. Alhakim met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mr. Muhammad Javad Zarif, and discussed bilateral relations, Minister Alhakim expressed Iraq’s keenness to establish strong relations with neighbouring countries, to stay away from bias policy and to avoid any regional and international conflicts.

Minister Alhakim called for the necessity of continuing political dialogues to develop bilateral relations, discuss regional issues, and converge attitudes toward different issues, stressing the need to respect the sovereignty of Iraq and support efforts to stabilize the region, expressing Iraq’s refusal to escalate and waving the option of war on neighboring Iran by US side, reiterating Baghdad’s commitment to protect diplomatic missions and the sanctity of diplomats.

The two sides touched on asserting the safety of energy security in the Gulf, and the freedom of international navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, and the impact of its closure on the economy of the countries on the region. The Ministers also discussed the proposed date of the Iraqi-Iranian joint committee.