Baghdad: Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani met today with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss bilateral relations and the importance of enhancing trade exchange between the two countries. They also discussed issues related to Pakistani workers in Iraq, prisoner exchanges, and work on an agreement for the exchange of wanted persons.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, during the meeting, al-Sudani highlighted the historical relations between Iraq and Pakistan at both the official and popular levels. He expressed his gratitude to Pakistan for its principled stances on Islamic and Arab issues, particularly the Palestinian cause and the war on the Gaza Strip. He emphasized that Iraq is honored to welcome visitors from all over the world, as it is home to diverse religions and communities, and pointed to the need for coordination regarding religious tourism.

The Prime Minister expressed Iraq’s readiness to cooperate in the oil and petroleum products sector and thanked Pakistan for its efforts in military training, the exchange of expertise, and the cooperation between the Military Industrialists’ Commission and the Pakistani Ministry of Defense Production for the purpose of transferring military manufacturing technology and producing military equipment.

For his part, Zardari praised Iraq as a historically and culturally significant nation and affirmed his keenness to visit Baghdad, a visit he said stemmed from his pride in and belief in Iraq’s importance in the Islamic world and the Middle East.

The Pakistani President congratulated the Prime Minister on the successful and remarkably high-profile elections, noting the importance of Iraq’s pivotal role and the restoration of its standing, which would contribute to achieving stability and balance. He expressed his country’s readiness to cooperate with Iraq in all areas of need and to further develop existing areas of cooperation.