Agriculture Minister Ghazi Zeaiter arrived Sunday in Baghdad on a visit during which he will meet with his Iraqi counterpart and which, he said, was also intended to celebrate the liberation of Iraq from Daesh (ISIS).
“[I am here] to celebrate this occasion, after Iraq, in all its military and popular forces and all its sects, defeated Daesh and freed its lands from terrorists,” Zeaiter told Iraqi media upon his arrival.
In a video shared to his twitter account, Zeaiter said he was keen to meet the Iraqi agriculture minister to discuss “agricultural exchanges between Lebanon and Iraq, and to work on existing memorandums of understanding and cooperation.”
He added: “Hopefully the [border] crossing between Iraq and Syria will open, and between Syria and Lebanon.”
The Joussiyeh border crossing in the northeastern Lebanese town of Al-Qaa reopened last week after being shut for around four years as a result of the Syrian war.
The war has had dire effects on Lebanese agricultural exports, many of which were previously transported via truck through Syria into Jordan, Iraq and further into the Gulf.
Daily Star
18 December
