President Vahagn Khachaturyan hosted an official dinner in honor of the President of the Republic of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid

President Vahagn Khachaturyan hosted an official dinner in honor of the President of the Republic of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid, who is on an official visit to Armenia, during which the presidents exchanged toasts.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan specifically noted,

"I sincerely welcome you and the accompanying delegation to the hospitable land of Armenia.

Your visit reflects the friendly nature of the relations between our countries, which is based on the centuries-old mutual affinity and neighborly coexistence of the Armenian and Iraqi peoples. I am confident that your first visit as the President will open a new page in Armenian-Iraqi friendly relations as a historical event.

In terms of development of bilateral relations, I attach great importance to the preservation of the existing high level of political contacts between our countries, and the consistency of high-level mutual visits.

Armenia and Iraq have always been connected by many civilizational, cultural, commercial and other ties throughout their long-standing history. For centuries, the multifaceted contacts and contacts of our peoples have enriched each other's culture and made an invaluable contribution to world civilization.

Today, the foundations of the relations between our two states are strong precisely because they are anchored on solid historical foundations.

Iraq, being the Arab country closest to Armenia geographically, is one of the most important and reliable partners for us in the Middle East and the Arab world. Our friendly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation with Iraq is exemplary in terms of building Armenia's relations with other Arab countries.

We are grateful to the friendly people of Iraq for providing shelter and caring attitude to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire.

In the context of Armenian-Iraqi relations, the Armenian community of Iraq plays a special role as a symbol of friendship between the two countries. The Armenians settled in Iraq in different periods made their unique contribution to the establishment and development of Iraq, and also shared the burden of the difficulties faced by the Iraqi people.

I am proud to note that the Armenian-Iraqi interstate relations are sustainable. In recent years, Armenia and Iraq managed to establish a wide range of cooperation. Iraq is an important trade partner of Armenia in the region. The number of mutual visits of tourists and businessmen are increasing day by day. I tend to see that there is still a great potential to deepen the existing relations and I am convinced that by joining efforts we will be able to strengthen and expand it for the benefit of our two peoples.

Allow me to propose a toast in honor of my dear friend, honorable Mr. President Abdul Latif Rashid, to the welfare and progress of our friend Iraq, and to the peaceful future and lasting and sincere friendship between the two peoples and states."

During the official dinner, the sides discussed the target areas and opportunities to further deepen relations between the two countries and to identify new fields of cooperation.