Egyptian President Mubarak looks with great attention towards relations with Kurdistan, Abul-Gheit says:

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: The Visiting Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit has expressed rejoice for his visit to north Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, saying that the motive of the visit had been his meeting with its President, Massoud Barzani, and attending the celebration of opening an Egyptian Consulate in Arbil, reiterating that “Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak looks with great attention towards relations with Kurdistan.” “I am happy to visit Kurdistan Region, during which I met its President Massoud Barzani, and attended the celebration of opening the Egyptian Consulate in its capital of Arbil,” Abul-Gheit said on Sunday night, adding that “what President Hosni Mubarak had promised President Barzani during the latter’s visit for Egypt, had been achieved by the opening of Egypt‘s Consulate in Kurdisan Region.” “President Mubarak and other Egyptian Officials are looking with great attention towards boosting relations with Kurdistan Region,” Abul-Gheit said. Kurdistan President, Massoud Barzani, had received Abul-Gheit and his accompanying delegation, that comprised Egypt‘s Foreign Ministry’s Undersecretary for Arab Affairs, Mohammed Qassim, the Egyptian Ambassador to Baghdad, Sherif Shahin and Egypt‘s Consul-General in Kurdistan Region, Sulaiman Othman, shortly after the arrival of the delegation to Kurdistan. President Talabani had expressed his gratitude for President Mubarak and the Egyptian government for the step of opening the Consulate, reiterating that “Kurdistan Region looks with attention towards strengthening and boosting relations with Egypt, being an important state, having a joint history with Iraq,” expressing hope that other Arab states would achieve similar steps to that taken by Egypt. Barzani had also expressed, during his meeting, attended by Iraq’s Foreign Minister, Hoshiar Zibary, Kurdistan’s Interior Minister, Karim Sinjari and Abil’s Governor, Nowzad Hadi, Kurdistan Region‘s satisfaction for “Egypt‘s participation in the building and reconstruction process, taking place nowadays in the Region.” The Egyptian Ambassador on his part, had pointed out after his meeting with Abul-Gheit, that preceded the opening of the Egyptain Consulate, to Barzani’s iniative that had brought closer all Iraqi polilical parties and helped the formatin of the new Iraqi government, highly appreciating the iniatiative “that brought different Iraqi political forces closer to each other and led to the formation of a government of national-partnership that comprised all political forces in the country.”   The celebration for the opeing of the Egyptian Consulate on Arbil was attended by Iraq’s Foreign Minister, Hoshiar Zibary, Kurdistan Parliament’s Speaker, Kamal Kirkukly and a number of officials of Kurdistan Region, as well as the visiting Egyptian delegation, and the Iranian Consul in Arbil. KNM (A) / SKH 66