By Xinhua,
Oman : Jordan and Iraq are keen to promote their ties of good neighborliness and cooperation in various fields following a two-day official visit to Jordan by Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki.
Maliki wrapped up his Amman tour on Friday, after holding separate talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Prime Minister Nadir Dhahabi on Thursday.
During the meeting, King Abdullah promised that Jordan would place all its capabilities at the service of Iraqi government to enable it to preserve security and stability and ensure the unity of the war-torn country.
Jordan supports the Iraqi government in its efforts to establish peace and security in all parts of the country, through engaging all segments of the Iraqi society in the political process that is designed to build the country’s future and preserve its sovereignty, he said.
Abdullah expressed Jordan’s keenness to develop bilateral cooperation with Iraq in various fields for the interest of the two countries, saying that naming a new ambassador to Baghdad reflects Jordan’s keenness to establish strong relations with Iraq.
For his part, the Iraqi premier, who arrived in Jordan on Thursday morning, briefed King Abdullah the current situation in Iraq and efforts being exerted by the Iraqi government to spread its control over all parts of Iraq.
While praising Jordan for hosting thousands of Iraqis and for supporting efforts designed to achieve security and stability in Iraq, Maliki expressed that Iraq was keen to establish stronger relations and strengthen cooperation with Jordan.
In a follow-up meeting with Maliki also on Thursday, Jordan’s premier Dhabi also reiterated Amman’s position that calls for respect of Iraq’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
He also called for no interference in Iraq’s internal affairs and stressed the importance of expanding the political process to ensure stability and find way-out for security and political issues in order to bury sectarian sedition.
Maliki stressed that the region needs to communicate among its members in a rational way to cope with the challenges it faces.
Maliki’s trip also reached an culmination when Dhahabi told a press conference on Thursday that the two sides have agreed to renew an oil agreement signed in 2006 for three years with same terms.
Under the original deal, which would expire on coming Aug. 15, Iraq agreed to provide Jordan with between 10 and 30 percent of its daily oil needs, or around 100,000 barrels at a preferential price.
Maliki expressed Iraq’s willingness to continue to supply Jordan with its oil needs, saying that his country is now “recovering and moving from handling the security file to address the economic file.”
The two sides also discussed the issue of debts Iraq owes Jordanian businessmen, with Maliki stressing the issue is a leftover from the former regime and it has to be solved, while Dahabi noted that there is an ad hoc committee formed by the two countries’ finance ministries to discuss the matter.
Talks also covered Jordan’s visa policy toward Iraqis, which was applied earlier in May according to Jordanian officials on a request of the Iraqi side.
Maliki in talks called on Jordan to ease entry restrictions in case of Iraqis seeking treatment or arriving in the country en route to other destinations.
On Wednesday, the two neighboring countries signed a cooperation protocol to establish a joint business council, aimed at developing relations between the two countries’ institutions and private sector as well as boosting joint cooperation and trade exchange.
Jordan’s exports to Iraq last year stood at around 526.8 million U.S. dollars, while imports from the eastern neighbor amounted to 12.2 million dollars, according to local daily The Jordan Times.
On the issue of diplomacy restoration in Baghdad, Maliki assured that the location of Jordan’s new embassy in Baghdad is being prepared.
Late in May, Jordan announced that the country would name an ambassador to Iraq in the coming period, after Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi urged Arab countries to dispatch envoys to Baghdad.
This is Maliki’s third visit to Jordan since he took office two years ago.