Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hosted the delegation led by the President of the Republic of Iraq, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, who arrived in Armenia on an official visit.
Prime Minister Pashinyan said in his welcoming speech. "Honorable Mr. President, I am happy to welcome you and the delegation led by you to the Republic of Armenia. Your visit is significant and, in fact, historic because you are the first President of Iraq to visit the Republic of Armenia.
There are rich cultural and historical ties between our countries, and I am happy to report that there is also a certain activation of economic ties. I hope that economic cooperation will deepen during your visit. Of course, the situation in the world and in the region is quite complicated now, and I will be happy to hear your assessments regarding the general situation and solutions.
Honorable Mr. President, let me once again welcome you to the Republic of Armenia and express the hope that mutual visits between high-ranking officials of our countries will become more frequent as a result of your historic visit."
The President of the Republic of Iraq stated in his turn. "Honorable Mr. Prime Minister, let me thank you and thank for hosting the delegation led by me in your country. We arrived yesterday and the time we spent was productive and interesting.
During the meeting with the President, we discussed the relations between the two countries in various fields, as well as we talked about the current situation in Iraq, we touched on the bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, and trade spheres. We hope that it will be further strengthened.
I would also like to express my support to the Armenian nation in connection with the calamity of the Armenian Genocide. I personally attended the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Genocide. I consider it important to emphasize the role of the Armenian community of Iraq, whose presence in our country dates back to ancient times, about 10 thousand years. The people of Iraq have benefited greatly from the Armenian population, among whom there are doctors, scientists, specialists in various fields."
The Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Iraq discussed issues related to cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, high technologies, energy, water resources, and tourism.
Issues related to regional security and stability, the process of normalization of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations were addressed.
Prime Minister Pashinyan presented the humanitarian problems of more than 100,000 forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's ethnic cleansing policy and the steps taken by the Armenian government to overcome them.