BAGHDAD, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan met with top Iraqi officials on Monday in Baghdad to follow implementation of cooperation agreements signed earlier by the two countries in the fields of energy and economy.
The Jordanian king was received by Iraqi President Barham Salih at the Baghdad airport and the two held a meeting and discussed the bilateral relations and common interest and the need to enhance them to serve the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples, a statement issued by the Presidential Office said.
The two sides exchanged views on several Arab and international issues and emphasized the important role of the two countries in consolidating the pillars of peace and stability in the Arab world and Middle East region, according to the statement.
King Abdullah also met with the Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and the Parliament Speaker Mohamed al-Halbousi, along with meeting with the Shiite cleric Ammar al-Hakim, head of Hikma parliamentary political bloc.
For his part, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hakim held a joint conference with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, during which the minister confirmed that King Abdullah's visit to Iraq came to follow up deals signed in November, when Salih paid a visit to Jordan during his regional tour that also covered Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The deals included projects such as oil pipeline from the Iraqi oil-hub of Basra to Jordanian port of Aqaba and renovating Baghdad-Amman international road, as well as creating an industrial zone at the border.
"The two countries are keen to implement the deals agreed upon earlier in the fields of energy, trade, industry, and transport and to execute (the deals) in Feb. 2," Safadi said.
Safadi also said that "Jordan stood by Iraq during the war against terror, and the king is here to reaffirm that he will continue to stand by Iraq in the reconstruction process."
King Abdullah's visit is his first to Iraq since 2008 and came a week after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's surprising visit to the country.
Also in the day, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian paid an official visit to Baghdad to hold a series of meetings with Iraqi officials, while on Sunday, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Iraq for a several-day visit to the country.
Zarif's visit came at the time when the United States has restored sanctions on Iran's oil industry as well as its banking and transport sectors, after Washington's pullout from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal in May last year.
Iraq and Jordan have long maintained good relations and the two sides are working to enhance ties especially after the full defeat of IS group in Iraq.
