The Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament, Mohamed Al-Halbousi , discussed with the Speaker of the UAE Federal National Council, Saqr bin Ghubash , on Sunday, strengthening relations and forming joint committees between the two countries.
This came in a meeting between them in Abu Dhabi, which Al-Halbousi arrived in on Saturday evening, on an undisclosed official visit, according to a statement by the Iraqi parliament (Parliament).
The statement stated that Al-Halbousi and Ghubash discussed “strengthening parliamentary and bilateral relations between Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, and cooperation in all fields.”
Al-Halbousi stressed, according to the statement, “the importance of communication and dialogue at the level of parliaments, the activation of friendship committees, and the role of parliamentary diplomacy in strengthening brotherly bonds between the two countries.”
Ghubash stressed his country’s “striving to develop its relations with Iraq and support strengthening partnership and economic cooperation, and everything that contributes to achieving security and stability in Iraq,” according to a statement by the Iraqi parliament.
For its part, the official Emirates News Agency reported that Al-Halbousi and Ghubash stressed “the importance of forming a joint parliamentary friendship committee between the two councils, and promoting joint parliamentary work to broader horizons.”
The agency pointed out the importance of “the Joint Parliamentary Friendship Committee (once its formation) to be a bridge or channel for developing inter-relations, to serve hopes and aspirations in various fields.”
Al-Halbousi had arrived on Saturday evening to the United Arab Emirates on an official visit, an undisclosed period, at the head of a parliamentary delegation to discuss strengthening relations.
Abu Dhabi and Baghdad have growing economic relations, as the two countries’ trade in 2019 (the latest available data) amounted to about $15.1 billion, according to data from the UAE Ministry of Economy.
