Iraq, Jordan in talks to protect joint borders from terror threat

Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi and Jordanian foreign ministers discussed on Sunday forming a joint military committee to protect borders from any possible terrorist threat, Elaph news website reported.

Speaking at a press conference along with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, top Iraqi diplomat Ibrahim al-Jaafari stressed the importance of “forming this committee as soon as possible” to control joint borders and protect them from terrorist groups.

“It is wrong to believe that the terrorist threat was eliminated from a certain country,” Jaafari told reporters, warning that “the threat of terrorism and Daesh (Islamic State) still exists.”

The Iraqi foreign minister admitted that both Baghdad and Amman are now involved in talks to “overcome their differences, and develop and deepen bilateral relations.”

He further called on Jordanian investors to play a role in reconstructing Iraq during the coming period. “When the anti-terror in Iraq is over, we will commence the reconstruction phase immediately, but the remnants of war will take a long period of time.”

Jaafari extended thanks to Jordanian authorities for their support for Iraq over the past period and their cooperation to arrest and bring to trial Iraqi criminals living in the kingdom.

The Jordanian foreign minister, for his part, reiterated that Jordan “will continue to help and support Iraq, and step up mutual coordination at the security and defense levels to face the threat of terrorism.”

Speaking about the Syrian crisis, Safadi stressed his country’s unshakable stance towards maintaining Syria’s independence and unity, and ending the humanitarian disaster there.