Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today, Friday, that Foreign Minister Arancha Gonzalez will visit Kuwait and Iraq from April 10 to 13 this month, pointing out that during the trip there will be focus on three main areas: strengthening political dialogue, strengthening economic relations and supporting scientific cooperation, Arabic daily Al Rai reported quoting Kuna.
Gonzalez will continue her tour to the Arab Gulf region, which she began last February with a visit to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, noting that the goal is to strengthen relations with the countries of the region by strengthening bilateral visits.
On the economic front, she will meet with CEOs of some international companies and representatives of Spanish companies in Kuwait, while she will also visit the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research to discuss cooperation possibilities.
At the conclusion of the visit, the Spanish Minister will meet with the Spanish military forces deployed at the Arifjan base, which is one of the work centers of the international coalition against the so-called “ISIS” organization, which provides logistical support for its operations in Iraq and Syria.
In another context, the statement said that the Spanish minister will visit Baghdad and Erbil on the 12th and 13th of this month, indicating that this is the first time that a Spanish foreign minister will travel to this Arab country since the last visit of Minister García Margayo in 2016.
The statement stated that the visit seeks to strengthen Political dialogue with the Iraqi government and bilateral relations, as well as strengthening economic and trade relations that have not yet developed to their fullest potential.
The statement indicated that Gonzalez will meet in Baghdad with Iraqi President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi, as well as with her counterpart Fouad Hussein and with officials of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, while she will also visit the US military base (Union 3) to meet with the Spanish military forces deployed there.
In the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (Erbil), Gonzales will meet with the President of the region, Nechirvan Barzani, other high-ranking personalities, representatives of Iraqi civil society and Spanish aid workers who work for United Nations agencies and international NGOs on cooperation and humanitarian support projects to exchange views on the humanitarian situation and the challenges facing the country