Egyptian, Jordanian, Iraqi ministerial delegations urge cooperation in health, pharmaceutical industries

CAIRO – 12 December 2020: Egyptian, Jordanian and Iraqi high-level delegations have agreed on the necessity to activate cooperation in the fields of health and pharmaceutical industries, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli.

The delegations affirmed the importance of training doctors, saying that it represents a promising chance for cooperation between the three countries, especially amid the coronavirus crisis.

They have also agreed on cooperation in rehabilitating infrastructure and building bridges, buildings and roads.

The ministers called for building on previous agreements on the fields of electricity linkage between Egypt and Jordan, with the aim of expanding horizons of cooperation between the three countries during the current period.

They also affirmed the necessity to establish a trilateral committee that is tasked with increasing trade exchange between the three countries and removing obstacles to the trade movement.

They also agreed to study activating a Jordanian proposal to establish a regional center for food security, to actively tackle scarcity of food during the times of crises.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has separately affirmed Egypt’s fixed stance to support Iraq and enhance its Arab national role, as he met with Iraqi Minister of Planning Khaled Battal on Saturday.

Battal headed a high-level ministerial delegation, in an official visit to Egypt. Relevant Egyptian ministers also attended the meeting.

El-Sisi said Egypt is keen to support in all realms that help Iraq overcome various challenges and preserve its security and stability.

He also affirmed Egypt’s keenness to boost cooperation with Iraq at the bilateral level and the trilateral level with Jordan, in light of the strategic importance it attaches to this cooperation.

The president stressed Egypt’s strong will to continue fruitful cooperation with the Iraqi side in all fields.

For his part, Battal conveyed Iraqi President Barham Salih’s greetings to his Egyptian counterpart, El-Sisi, and affirmed Iraq’s appreciation to the Egyptian efforts to support Iraq in all fields.

He expressed keenness to benefit from the Egyptian experience in establishing developmental projects, especially in housing, infrastructure, electricity, agriculture and health.

Battal hailed Egypt’s support to Iraq to face challenges mutually facing the two countries, including terrorism.