BAGHDAD (Dispatches) – Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad Monday on an official visit aimed at boosting bilateral ties, the Iraqi official television reported.
The state-run Iraqiya channel said that Ishtaye, heading a high-level delegation, has arrived in Baghdad and will meet Iraqi President Barham Salih, Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi, parliament speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and other ministers and senior officials.
The two sides are scheduled to discuss concluding economic agreements and means to promote bilateral ties, as well as discussing regional developments, the channel said.
"The history between Palestine and Iraq allows new horizons of joint cooperation between the two countries within the framework of the government's strategic vision of gradual disengagement from Israel, especially in the economic side," the Palestinian government spokesman, Ibrahim Melhem, told the official Voice of Palestine radio.
He said the visit is important because of its timing and the importance of Iraq, which is opposed to the U.S. "Deal of the Century" and did not participate in the Bahrain workshop held by the U.S. administration last month.
"The import of Iraqi oil is one of the most important data-x-items on the agenda of the visit," Melhem said.
He mentioned the Palestinian side will begin "breaking the economic relations with Israel," through purchasing oil Arab countries like Iraq and Jordan.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has been informed during his recent visit that Iraq is ready to provide oil to the Palestinian side, while Jordan can help solve the problem of refining oil, Melhem said.
A week ago, Ishtaye visited Jordan, and met with his Jordanian counterpart Omar Razzaz. The two sides signed three memorandums of understanding and agreements in health, energy and transport fields.