Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa
10/20/2010
Al-Maliki discusses political conditions in Iraq with Mubarak, meets Amr Moussa
CAIRO, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki said here Wednesday that his current two-day visit to Egypt and his audience with president Hosni Mubarak are fraught with meanings.
He added that the meeting stems out of a shared interest in boosting bilateral ties in various fields, noting that political conditions in Iraq were discussed in detail.
Al-Maliki said in a statement following his meeting with president Mubarak today that, "we have put forward the efforts made for carving out a national unity government that makes reconstruction and establishing security the slogan of the coming stage." He also asserted that achieving the above-mentioned goal requires strengthening ties and bolstering agreements with friendly and sisterly countries to become partners in the reconstruction as Iraq needs a comprehensive reconstruction process.
Al-Maliki added that constant consultations between Egypt and Iraq are not a new thing, but they represent a continuation of the close relationships and the exchange of visits between leaders of the two countries, noting that, "we in Iraq are totally proud of our ties with Egypt." Further, Al-Maliki noted that president Mubarak made instructions to Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Ahmad Nazif and Foreign Minister Ahmad Abulgheit on the necessity of the Egyptian companies'participation in reconstructing Iraq and working toward further increasing their contributions to the efforts of development and investment there.
"We pledged to offer all necessary facilities in order to provide the Egyptian firms with an opportunity in the Iraqi market beside the other foreign companies operating in the country," he explained.
He added, "we agreed upon overcoming all obstacles that may face the Egyptian companies -- including those working in the fields of housing, oil and gas and hospitals construction -- through immediate follow-up and ongoing contacts between officials in the two countries."
Al-Maliki also stressed the significance of boosting the efforts of holding a joint free trade market that helps facilitate the trade traffic between the two countries, besides the possibility of transporting Iraqi gas through the Arab gas pipeline that starts from Egypt and passes by several Arab countries.
On president Mubarak's vision that he realized through the meeting, Al-Maliki said that, "President Mubarak's stance is in favor of Iraq as a whole," noting that all Iraqi officials who visited Egypt got a glimpse of such spirit on the part of president Mubarak and they did not sense any biased Egyptian feeling to a given Iraqi trend.
He added that president Mubarak asserted during today's meeting that he supports the choices made by the Iraqi people and that he favors the government that will be chosen by the Iraqi people, saying that this is the clear stance of Egypt, reiterating that president Mubarak supports the Iraqi political project and hopes to see an Iraqi government representing all Iraqi political spectrum.
In same vein, the outgoing Iraqi Prime Minister asserted here today in a joint press conference with Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa that Iraq will host the upcoming Arab summit next March as a proof of its recovery and the Arab stance supporting his country.
Al-Maliki said at the close of his talks with Moussa that Iraq made a big stride toward the preparations of the upcoming Arab summit.
He also noted that he insisted on paying a visit to the Arab League that, "we all hope to empowered and to have its role activated in order to remain the pan-Arab umbrella and pan-Arab house," adding that, "Arabs need the role played by the league in order to close their ranks in the face of challenges facing any single country in our region." He pointed out that talked with Moussa on Arab issues and the conditions in Iraq, saying, "we are resolutely going ahead with forming the government and reached the final stage in this respect."
"We have reassured the Arab League on forming the new government," Al-Maliki said, adding that "Iraqis may disagree, but they certainly agree in the end." He noted that, "our demand of the Arab League is to stand by Iraq," making clear that holding the next Arab summit in Baghdad is a proof of the support lent by the Arab world as a whole to Iraq.
On his part, Moussa said that Iraq is a principal country in the region and its absence of the politial landscape is one of the causes of dysfunction in the regional action, and consequently the return of Iraq as an active partner and its contribution to regional stability are in the interest of the region as a whole.
Moussa alos expressed his happiness over meeting Al-Maliki, saying that, "this is not the first visit Al-Maliki pays to the Arab League, as he came here on many occasions and we were briefed on the outcomes of his visit and make much use of the important information that help us get acquainted with situation in Iraq."
Concerning holding the upcoming Arab summit in Iraq and his discussions with the Iraqi government in this respect, Moussa said that the Arab decision is clear on holding the summit in Baghdad, adding "we hope that preparations and consultations are made in order to help make the summit a success with a wide-scale participation."
KUNA
