Meeting in Baghdad, Libya National Unity Government Foreign Minister Tahir al-Baour and Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein announced plans to develop relations between the two countries in various fields.
Speaking at a joint press conference, al-Baour said Libya needed cooperation with Iraq in various areas. He noted that relations between Libya and Iraq were longstanding and said the two countries had many issues in common.
Al-Baour said Libya aimed to become an active state in the Arab world. He emphasized the need for information exchange and cooperation in various sectors, particularly education, health and oil.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hussein said efforts were under way to develop relations with Libya. Hussein announced that they supported resolving disputes among the parties in Libya through peaceful means.
Hussein also said memorandums of understanding would be signed during al-Baour's visit. Al-Baour is expected to meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Zeydi to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral relations.
Joint commission meetings resume
Al-Baour arrived in Baghdad on Sunday to attend meetings of the Libya-Iraq Joint Commission, which were scheduled to take place on Sunday and Monday.
The commission operates as a high-level institutional mechanism. It aims to strengthen relations in the fields of the economy, trade, investment, health, education and security, as well as to sign memorandums of understanding.
The exact date of the commission's establishment is not known. Its first meeting took place in 2000, when it was decided that the commission would meet annually. The second and last meeting was held in 2001 in Tripoli, the capital of Libya.
The commission's work did not continue after the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the end of the government of then-President Saddam Hussein, followed by the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi's government in Libya in 2011. The resumption of the meetings is restoring the joint mechanism between the two countries after a quarter of a century.
