Iraqi PM’s Visit To China To Boost Bilateral Ties

Adel Abdul Mahdi

BAGHDAD, Sept 16 (NNN-NINA) – An Iraqi politician said, Iraqi Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi’s upcoming visit to China will contribute to “a quantum leap” in bilateral relations.

Raed Fahmi, secretary of the Central Committee of the Iraqi Communist Party, said, “The visit may open the door for signing agreements to improve the level of cooperation between China and Iraq that could have strong effects.

“Such agreements could help Iraq meet the requirements of development, especially in the development of infrastructure, including roads and bridges,” said Fahmi.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that, Abdul Mahdi will pay an official visit to China from Sept 19 to 23, at the invitation of Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang.

Relations between Iraq and China have developed in political and economic fields, and there is good cooperation with major Chinese companies in the oil sector as well as, in other sectors, according to Fahmi.

“Today, we know that, this visit is aimed at creating a qualitative and quantitative leap in relations to help Iraq face the challenges to improve its economy through building its infrastructure,” Fahmi added.

“As far as I know, a number of agreements will be signed during this period and a joint fund may be set up to give this cooperation a success,” Fahmi said.

According to Iraqi media report, Abdul Mahdi will head a large delegation, including ministers, advisers and businessmen, to visit China, in order to discuss several issues, including mega projects in fields of roads, education and health.

The volume of trade between China and Iraq exceeded 30 billion U.S. dollars in 2018, according to Zhang, asserting that, “China is the biggest trading partner of Iraq, and Iraq is the second biggest oil supplier to China, and the fourth biggest trading partner of China in the Middle East.”