SULAIMANI (ESTA) — The Iraqi and Swiss foreign ministers signed a memorandum of understanding in Baghdad on Saturday, according to the Iraqi foreign ministry, agreeing to establish “political consultations” as part steps to develop ties between the two countries.
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis arrived in Baghdad on Saturday for a two-day visit. He met with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
The Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement that both ministers discussed bilateral ties and ways to consolidate them within the framework of strengthening joint cooperation between the two nations.
They also signed a memorandum of understanding for “political consultations”, it added.
Cassis said in a tweet that he discussed with Hussein how Switzerland “can help promoting peace & security”.
“We signed an MoU establishing regular political consultations between Switzerland & Iraq,” he tweeted.
The two ministers also discussed the situation of displaced people, migrants and asylum seekers from countries in the Middle East, including Iraq, the foreign ministry’s statement read.
The ministers stressed that “it is necessary to find a specific mechanism for dialogue on this point and at the level of a group of European countries, where it addresses the same challenges,” it said.
The Iraqi foreign minister called on Switzerland to open an embassy in Baghdad, according to the statement. He also called for the release of Iraqi funds frozen in Swiss banks.
“What matters to us is how to rebuild Iraq and help achieve security and stability,” the Swiss minister was cited as saying by the Iraqi foreign ministry.
He also called for “the importance of setting a new commercial and economic plan for development, cooperation and investment between the two countries,” it stated.
Cassis’ visit is the first for a member of Switzerland’s executive council to Iraq since 1979.
