Parliament speaker values Kuwaiti support for Iraq

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Speaker of the Iraqi parliament Mohamed al-Halbousi valued on Wednesday all kinds of political and financial support provided by Kuwait for Iraq over the past period.

During a meeting with Kuwaiti Ambassador in Baghdad Salem Ghassab Al-Zamanan, the parliament speaker thanked the Kuwaiti government for its efforts to improve the situation in Basra, particularly in the fields of electricity and water.

Zamanan, for his part, said Kuwait is “always keen on being a supportive state of Iraq in all political, economic and social fields.”

Earlier in the day, Halbousi received a phone call from his Kuwaiti counterpart, Matzouk al-Ghanem, in which the latter congratulated Halbousi for his election as parliament speaker.

A statement by Halbousi received during the phone call an invitation from Ghanem to visit Kuwait, which the Iraqi parliamentarian promised to do.

The Iraqi parliament elected Halbousi, a former governor of Anbar province, as a new chief after an internal poll on Saturday.

Based on a political agreement adopted since the ouster of late leader Saddam Hussein, Kurds assume Iraq’s presidency, Sunnis are entitled to parliament speaker, and Shias hold the prime minister’s office.

Iraq parliament elections, the first since the defeat of Islamic State militants, were held last May amid judicial challenges that prompted a recount of votes.