Egypt is seeking to strengthen cooperation ties with Iraq via supporting development efforts in the country as part of an oil-for-reconstruction agreement reached between Cairo and Baghdad, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly told Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein during their meeting in the Egyptian capital on Monday.

“There are clear and continuous mandates by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to the government to strengthen cooperation ties with brotherly Iraq, and to do whatever it takes to support development efforts on Iraq’s land, especially after an agreement was reached on activating the oil-for-reconstruction mechanism,” Madbouly stressed to the Hussein, according to a cabinet statement.

The Egyptian PM and Iraqi foreign minister met yesterday on the sideline of the emergency meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League (AL) in Cairo, which discussed the Palestinian cause and other regional issues.

Madbouly said he is following up on the implementation of the cooperation deals agreed upon between the two countries during the latest meetings of the Egyptian-Iraqi High committee, as well as the tripartite meetings between Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan.

During a meeting of the Egyptian-Iraqi High Committee in Baghdad in October, Cairo and Baghdad reached an initial agreement to establish an oil-for-reconstruction mechanism, under which Egyptian companies are to implement construction projects in Iraq in return for Iraq providing Egypt with certain quantities of oil.

With the aim of boosting bilateral cooperation, both countries also signed 15 agreements and memoranda of understanding in various fields, including oil, transport, roads, housing, construction, trade, industry, and others.

Meanwhile, Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan are targeting cementing cooperation ties in different fields, foremost of which are the oil pipeline power linkages ventures, as agreed during the latest tripartite summits between the three countries, the latest of which was held in Cairo in December.

Hussein expressed to Madbouly his country’s hope “to build on the outcomes of the High Committee meetings hosted in Baghdad, and to maximise the benefit from the oil-for-reconstruction mechanism.”

The Iraqi foreign minister said he is following up with his counterparts in Egypt and Jordan on other trilateral cooperation files. 

Earlier on Monday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with Hussein and their Jordanian counterpart in a tripartite meeting also on the sidelines of the emergency meeting to coordinate positions on issues of mutual concern and the Palestinian cause.