SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has invited his Italian counterpart Mario Draghi to pay a visit to Iraq, the Iraqi foreign ministry said early on Monday.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein paid a visit to Italy on Saturday to meet Italian officials in Rome and Pope Francis in the Vatican state.
Hussein met with his Italian counterpart Luigi Di Maio in Rome on Sunday, the Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement.
Kadhimi invited the Italian prime minister to visit Iraq in a letter delivered by the Iraqi foreign minister, the statement read.
The minister affirmed during the meeting that Iraq had now become “an attractive arena for companies and foreign investments in various sectors,” according to the statement.
Hussein also expressed Iraq’s desire to “see Italian companies specialized in the field of energy and oil present in the country and benefit from the Italian expertise in the field of antiquities.”
The Iraqi and Italian ministers also discussed the issue of “frozen accounts and funds” in Italian banks, Iraq’s foreign ministry said.
Hussein stressed the need to solve “this dilemma”, it added.
The Italian foreign minister, for his part, affirmed his country’s keenness to deepen the bonds of relations between the two countries.
He stressed on “making every effort and communicating with concerned authorities to solve the problem of frozen funds in Italy”, according to the statement.
Di Maio also condemned a drone attack on a base hosting U.S.-led Coalition troops at Erbil airport, the Italian foreign ministry said in a separate statement.
An explosives-laden drone targeted a base hosting U.S.-led Coalition troops at Erbil airport on Wednesday night, without causing casualties.
Coalition spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto said the drone landed on a storage hanger at Erbil airport base and confirmed there were no injuries, according to AP.
In a joint statement, U.S., UK, France, Germany and Italy said attacks on the United States and Coalition troops would not be tolerated.
“We are united in our view that attacks on U.S. and Coalition personnel and facilities will not be tolerated and reiterate our steadfast commitment to the fight against ISIS,” they stated, using an acronym for Islamic State.
