Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Abdul Latif Rashid delivered statements for the press

President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan and President of the Republic of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid summarized the results of the meetings held at the presidential residence delivering statements for mass media representatives.

President Vahagn Khachaturyan's statement is as follows:

"Your Excellency, the Honorable President of the Republic of Iraq, Abdul Latif Rashid,

Distinguished guests, dear media representatives,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great privilege to host the delegation headed by Your Excellency in Yerevan today. Your visit is truly historic, because since the establishment of diplomatic relations, you are the first president of Iraq to make an official visit to Armenia. I am confident that your visit will open a new page in Armenian-Iraqi relations, as well as give a powerful impetus to the deepening and expanding of the multi-sectoral cooperation between the friendly states.

I am pleased to note that since the independence of Armenia, relations with Arab countries have been developing in an atmosphere of mutual trust and warm friendship. Presently, there is a special dynamic in Armenian-Iraqi relations. The bilateral agenda is quite comprehensive and covers many areas of cooperation, from trade and economic relations to educational and cultural, humanitarian, and high tech areas.

Both the rich past of Armenian-Arab historical and cultural relations, as well as the presence of the Armenian community in Iraq, which has a centuries-old history, is a solid basis for the dynamic development of relations between our countries. The Armenian people are grateful to the friendly people of Iraq, especially for hosting and providing shelter to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the friendly Iraqi authorities for caring for Iraqi Armenians and ensuring all conditions for their sustenance and normal activities.

Iraq is an important and reliable partner of Armenia in the Middle East region. Armenia is very interested in the development of the bilateral agenda with Iraq, particularly in the trade and economic sphere.

I consider the negotiations with Mr. President effective, during which we exchanged ideas on a number of issues of bilateral interest. We thoroughly discussed the current state and prospects of Armenian-Iraqi relations with my esteemed colleague in an atmosphere of mutual understanding.

We were pleased to highlight the significant increase in the volume of trade with Iraq in recent years. At the same time, we expressed confidence that these indicators can further increase. We highly appreciated the regular session of the Armenian-Iraqi intergovernmental joint commission on economic cooperation held in Baghdad on September 12-13 this year. Both sides attached importance to the speedy implementation of the agreements reached at the session.

At the meeting, the fields of agriculture, renewable energy production, infrastructure development and rehabilitation, food and light industry, education, science, and culture were thoroughly discussed as the most promising areas.

The significant potential of mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of high technologies and digitization was particularly emphasized. In this regard, I mentioned that Armenia is ready to pass on its successful experience gained over the years in this field to the Iraqi side.

We reaffirmed the willingness of both sides to deepen interstate relations.
Apart from the bilateral agenda, we discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest. We emphasized the need to coordinate the efforts of the two countries in the context of the dialogue on the regional security, the processes taking place in the international arena and the challenges arising from it.

I presented to my esteemed colleague the "Crossroads of Peace" concept put forward by Armenia, which aims to make Armenia a transit center for existing and future channels stretching from North to South and from West to East, which implies the restoration of normal communication with all our neighbors. The implementation of the concept will enable transit between the Middle East and Asia on the one hand, and the European and Eurasian markets on the other. Armenia is interested in unblocking regional economic and transport links, respecting state sovereignty, jurisdiction and the principles of equality and reciprocity, and is ready to do so as soon as possible, which, in turn, will ensure security and stability in the region.

The strengthening of cooperation within the framework of the fight against all manifestations of international terrorism, as well as joining efforts with the aim to combat illegal migration, was also highlighted.

Toward the end of the meeting, we adopted a joint statement with my distinguished colleague, which reflects the desire of both sides to develop cooperation in almost all key areas of bilateral relations."