Baghdad hosts Iraqi-Libyan Joint Committee meetings after 25-year hiatus

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and Libya’s Acting Foreign Minister Taher al-Baour. Photo: Iraqi Foreign Ministry Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Libya’s Acting Foreign Minister Taher al-Baour is in Baghdad heading a high-level delegation to co-chair the Iraqi-Libyan Joint Committee meetings, which have resumed after a 25-year break. Al-Baour met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein to discuss strategies to enhance political, diplomatic, and regional ties between Baghdad and Tripoli. Their discussions focused on aligning mutual political positions on regional problems and increasing combined consular and diplomatic presence. Following their meeting, al-Baour and Hussein held a joint press conference. Al-Baour emphasized Libya’s immediate need to partner with Iraq to repair and staff key public facilities, particularly in education and healthcare. The Libyan delegation is finalizing several memoranda of understanding covering a wide range of economic and development areas. Al-Baour’s team includes officials from several government bodies affiliated with the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU). According to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, this diplomatic drive follows Iraq’s offer to resume coordination and signify a return to normalized, regular diplomatic ties between the two countries. The delegation’s trip to Baghdad builds directly upon virtual expert meetings organized by the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conclude trade agreements with Iraqi officials before signatures are authorized.