Lawmakers say PM to discuss security, economic files, water problem in Syria

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Lawmakers from different political blocs said that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will discuss security and economic files as well as the water problem during his visit to Syria on Tuesday, expecting positive outcome for Iraqi and Syrian sides. “Al-Maliki’s visit to Syria comes to activate the Syrian-Iraqi agreement and to assert the importance of bilateral cooperation in economic, trade and security fields,” MP from the United Iraqi Alliance (UIA), Abbas al-Bayati, told Aswat all-Iraq news agency. Al-Maliki will head for Syria on Tuesday (Aug. 18) in response to an invitation from his Syrian counterpart to hold talks on boosting bilateral ties. Al-Maliki’s last visit to Syria was in August 2007, during which he met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. His trip comes just days after a senior US military delegation visited Syria to discuss regional security issues, reportedly including Iraq. Tuesday’s visit follows a two-day trip to Iraq in April by Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Naji Otri. Maliki’s talks in Syria will also focus on water resources, amid frequent complaints from Baghdad that the flow of the Euphrates river, which runs from Turkey through Syria to Iraq, is insufficient for Iraq’s agricultural needs. “The visit aims also to invite Syrian companies and businessmen to invest in Iraq,” al-Bayati added. “The visit is important as it follows a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu,” he said, noting that a tripartite committee will be formed by Iraq, Turkey and Syria to deal with the water flow from the Euphrates river. Last week, Davutoglu arrived in Baghdad on his official visit to Iraq, where he discussed ways to enhance bilateral ties, water and security cooperation between the two countries. For his side, lawmaker from the Iraqi Accord Front, Rashied al-Azzawi, said al-Maliki will discuss some economic and security files in Syria. “There are so many files al-Maliki will discuss in Syrian mainly the Iraqi displaced inside Syria and Economic relations as well as he Iraqi-Syrian oil pipeline,” he said. “Other issues like fighting terrorists’ sneaking through Syrian territories into Iraq will also on al-Maliki’s agenda in Damascus,” he noted. MP from the independent Arab bloc, Omar al-Juburi that the visit comes within the framework of trading official visits and discussing security files. He voiced hope that this visit help to deepen brotherly relations between Iraq and Syria. “The premier will discuss the Iraqi displaced in Syria as the government wants them to return to prove that the security situation is stable,” the lawmaker added. SH (I) 1