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Ammon News -

Interior Minister Mazen Faraya received Sunday his Iraqi counterpart Othman al-Ghanimi, and an accompanying delegation, to discuss ties and cooperation.

During the meeting, Faraya underscored that the Jordanian-Iraqi relations have gone beyond the existing inter-state relations to more advanced, open and developed ties at several levels.

The meeting tackled means to enhance bilateral cooperation in the fields of combating terrorism and extremism, border security, combating smuggling and human trafficking, exchanging information, developing trade exchanges through the al-Karamah-Trebil border crossing and investment, revamping tourism and facilitating residence and visa granting procedures, in addition to issues related to the Iraqi students and community in Jordan.

Faraya said that royal directives to the government constantly focus on expanding cooperation between the two countries in various fields, especially security and economy, to achieve common interests, stressing that this visit reflects the deep-rooted bilateral ties.

The government, he added, continues to make every move to overcome any obstacles that may face the progress of relations between Jordan and Iraq, pointing to a recent decision to resume door-to-door delivery service, as well as a move towards facilitating trade and movement and developing procedures to electronically grant visas and residencies.

The Minister of Interior voiced the ministry's commitment to overcome any obstacles that Iraqis might face upon entry into and residence in the Kingdom in accordance with the applicable regulations and instructions.

For his part, the Iraqi minister said that Jordan and Iraq are linked by well-established relations and historical bonds that require developing them through coordination and joint consultation in the areas of exchanging expertise on training, information, forensic evidence and utilizing security technology, stating that Iraq has begun to recover and assimilate into its Arab and regional surroundings.

He pointed out that his visit to Jordan comes with the aim of discussing the necessary facilitations for trade and investment, facilitating movement between the two countries and addressing some issues related to the Iraqi community residing in the Kingdom, particularly some fines that were imposed on them, in addition to reconsidering the 2005 security agreement to develop and expand it to include other articles that achieve their common interests.

At the end of the meeting, the two officials agreed to continue coordination and consultation and hold bilateral meetings whenever necessary to address any developments or issues that may arise from time to time.