Foreign Minister meets with Greek counterpart and calls for the resuming of the meeting of the joint Iraqi-Greek committee, and stresses the importance of enhancing trade exchange between the two countries

Foreign Minister Mr. Fuad Hussein met with his Greek counterpart Mr. Nikos Dendias in Athens upon the invitation extended by his Greek counterpart to discuss bilateral relations and ways to develop and advance them.

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations at all levels and reviewed ways to develop them to a level consistent with the historical and cultural relations between the two countries. Minister Fuad Hussein also thanked his Greek counterpart for the invitation extended to him to visit Athens, expressing gratitude to Minister Nikos Dendias for offering condolences to the government and people of Iraq over the terrorist attack which took place in Baghdad on 21/1/2021, that left dozens of martyrs and wounded pointing out that pockets of terrorism are still active, and Iraq continues to fight them in order to eliminate them and eradicate their takfiri ideology.

The Minister expressed his thanks to his Greek counterpart for his government’s support to remove Iraq from the European list of high-risk countries in the areas of money laundering and terrorist financing, as well as for Greece’s participation in the Global Coalition to stand with Iraq in its war against Da’esh extremist gangs and for providing military and logistical support.

Minister Fuad Hussein also thanked Greece for receiving numbers of Iraqi refugees, as the two sides discussed their conditions and ways to provide humanitarian support and the possibility of joint action to create an enabling environment inside Iraq to encourage them to return voluntarily.

The Minister stated the importance of exchanging visits within a broader framework, and extended an invitation to his Greek counterpart and investment and commercial companies to visit Iraq, meet companies and major Iraqi investors, and promote direct dialogue to accelerate the reconstruction movement and stabilize Iraq’s need in the sectors of health, culture, education, and renewable energy.

Minister Fuad Hussein also indicated the need for the joint Iraqi-Greek committee to resume its meetings, to devote mutual support at the level of international organizations and political consultations, as well as to sign and activate memoranda of understanding between the two friendly sides, especially in the field of investment and exempt holders of diplomatic and service passports from entry features.

The two Ministers discussed the regional and international conditions and emphasized that the region needs stability and sustainability of coordination in order to promote common interests which will open the way for promising investment opportunities to be reflected in development among the countries of the region.