The President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received this morning at Baabda Palace the Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals Manhal Aziz Al-Khabbaz, in the presence of Minister of Industry George Bushkian, the Iraqi Ambassador Haider Al-Barrak and the Lebanese Ambassador to Iraq Ali Al-Habbab.

During the meeting, both parties discussed the two countries’ public relations and the actions taken to activate them in all domains, as well as steps taken to increase exchange and industrial knowledge.

President Aoun praised the relations between Lebanon and Iraq, thanking Iraqi President and Iraqi officials for their support for Lebanon in various fields and their sincere desire to cooperate for the benefit of the two brotherly countries and peoples.
Aoun stressed “the importance of Lebanon’s openness to Iraq, the Arab countries and the countries of the world as a whole to advance all its sectors, specifically in the industrial field, in which Lebanon has proven that it is able to compete, and as one of the basic elements capable of contributing to the process of revival that Lebanon aspires to and works to achieve.”

After the meeting, the Iraqi Minister of Industry Al-Khabbaz spoke to the journalists and said: “We were honored today to meet His Excellency the Lebanese President. The meeting was fruitful and we informed His Excellency in general of the atmosphere of joint relations in the industrial and economic field between Iraq and Lebanon, and the outcome of the memorandum of cooperation and economic integration. It also conveyed the greetings of the Iraqi government, headed by His Excellency the President and His Excellency the Prime Minister, and we touched upon some files that can be discussed in the field of joint cooperation in various fields. It is in the interest of both countries.”