India and Iraq held their second round of Foreign Office Consultations in Baghdad, with both sides agreeing on the importance of maintaining an upward momentum in their bilateral relationship through regular visits and consultations.
In a statement released, while noting the warm and traditional relations shared between the nations, the Ministry of External Affairs said that during the consultation both sides held an in-depth review of the current status of bilateral relations in all fields including political, economic, defence, security, trade and investments, development partnership, scholarship programme and capacity building, cultural relations and people-to-people contacts.
“Detailed discussions were held on further strengthening of the bilateral relations and the future direction of the growth of bilateral cooperation,” MEA added.
With the bilateral agenda in focus, during the consultation both sides led by their respective delegations also emphasised the importance of expanding economic partnership and technology engagement, with both sides noting enhanced opportunities for investment between India and Iraq, particularly in the fields of oil and gas, infrastructure, healthcare, power, transport, agriculture, water management, drugs and pharmaceuticals, ICT, and renewable energy.
The MEA further added that, during the consultation, “Both sides expressed their satisfaction about the bilateral trade, which exceeded USD 34 billion for 2021-22 and discussed ways and means to further increase and diversify trade from oil to non-oil sectors.They urged business community to engage closely for mutual benefit. Both sides also agreed to hold the next India-Iraq Joint Commission Meeting at Oil Ministers’ level in New Delhi at a mutually convenient date.”
During the consultation, the Indian delegation was led by Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Secretary (CPV & OIA) while the Iraq’s delegation was led by Dr. Hisham Al Alawi, Undersecretary for Political Planning Affairs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iraq.
With a focus on the bilateral agenda, on the sidelines of the consultation, Secretary (CPV & OIA) also held meetings with several of the top Iraqi officials. Both the sides discussed matters pertaining to bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest. The Secretary called on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil Hayyan Abdul Ghani, Minister of Trade Atheer Dawood Salman, National Security Adviser Qasem Al Araji, and President of the Sunni Awqaf Board Dr. Mesh’an Al Khazraji.
Dr. Sayeed also inaugurated the newly-built Indian Consular Application Center (ICAC) in Baghdad on the occasion of his visit, in an effort to ensure hassle-free travel for Indian and Iraqi nationals.
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