In a meeting on Monday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Iraqi FM Fouad Hussein said that Egypt plays a “major role” in Baghdad’s foreign relations.
Hussein, who arrived in the Egyptian capital a day earlier, met with a number of Egyptian officials including the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi earlier on Monday.
Hussein and the Egyptian officials discussed a number of issued including electricity and gas-related projects, as well as the latest developments in the region, particularly the Palestinian cause and the situations in Syria and Libya.
"We understand the challenges – [which we share] – and we are totally ready to cooperate to face these challenges," Shoukry added.
Shoukry added that they also discussed challenges caused by terrorist groups as well as the negative impact of the interference of some countries in the Arab world.
He also hailed the sacrifices made by the people of Iraq in its efforts to eliminate the Islamic State terrorist group, adding that these efforts have benefited the region as a whole.
Shoukry said that an Egyptian ministerial delegation, which will include the minister of planning, will visit Iraq by the end of October.
The Iraqi and Egyptian FMs discussed enhancing cooperation in the energy sector as well as commercial, security, military, cultural and educational relations.
The talks also tackled a number of regional and international political issues, and Hussein affirmed that Iraq will continue to coordinate foreign policy issues with Egypt.
Hussein said that by the end of October Iraq will receive Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to activate MOUs signed earlier between the two countries.
The meeting between Shoukry and Hussein comes less than two months after El-Sisi met with Jordan s King Abdullah II and Iraq s Prime Minister Mostafa Al-Kadhimi in Amman, where El-Sisi had expressed Egypt s willingness to establish joint development projects with Iraq and Jordan within a strict timeframe.
The summit, which was held in Amman on 25 August, addressed enhancing cooperation in all fields, especially in energy, power linkages, infrastructure, and food.
