First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ivica Dačić has received today a courtesy call from the new Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to the Republic of Serbia, Fakhri Hassan Mahdi Al Issa.

Minister Dačić welcomed the Ambassador of Iraq, wishing him every success during his tenure as well as a lot of success to the new Iraqi government. He recalled that Serbia was proud of the history of our relations and cooperation dating back to the period of the former Yugoslavia. He also pointed out that Serbia had made a great contribution to combating terrorism in Iraq and preserving the territorial integrity and sovereignty of this country. He underlined that Serbia had an interest in further developing comprehensive cooperation with Iraq in the economy, internal affairs, as well as in culture, education and other areas where there existed real opportunities. He thanked for the principled position of Iraq regarding the non-recognition of unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo, saying that he hoped that the Iraqi support would remain unchanged.

The Ambassador of Iraq thanked for the warm welcome and expressed his special thanks for Serbia's support in combating terrorism. He explained that, in the past years, Iraq faced serious losses without which its territorial integrity would not be preserved. He underlined that Iraq now needed quick and efficient reconstruction and urged Serbia to take part in it, because, as he pointed out, it was the companies from Serbia in Iraq that had a special image in relation to this issue. Ambassador Fakhri Hassan Mahdi Al-Issa reiterated the support to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Serbia and agreed that opportunities for cooperation between the two countries were multiple.

The interlocutors agreed that the traditionally friendly relations between the two countries, which had a long and rich history, should be the basis for economic cooperation, mutual support on international level and support in international organizations.