ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minis­ter for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Syed Zulfiqar Abbas Bukhari on Thursday called on Iraqi President Dr Barham Salih and discussed with the latter ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation.

This was the first high-level visit from Pakistan to Iraq since the coming to power of the PTI government as well as formation of a new government in Iraq, said a press release issued by the Pakistan Embassy in Iraq.

During the visit, Mr Bukhari also held a meeting with Dr Basam Al-­Zaman Majeed Al-Rubaei, the Iraqi Minister for Labour.

The two sides agreed to finalise the signing of a memorandum of understan­ding (MoU) at the earliest aimed at ensuring legal and risk-free migration of the Pakistani manpower to Iraq.

The agreement was reached between Mr Bukhari and Mr Rubaie during their meeting.

It was agreed that both countries would work together for safe and legal migration of workforce from Pakistan.

Under the MoU, Pakistan would share data of skilled manpower with Iraq.

Both sides also agreed that the Iraqi government would facilitate Pakistani businesses by ensuring speedy processing of business visas.

The possibility of investment by Pakistani companies in agriculture, animal husbandry, construction and real estate sectors also came under discussion.

Mr Bukhari said that a safe Iraq was a viable destination for making investments in the region, adding that economic development in Iraq was a good omen. He appealed to the Iraqi government to also ensure the safety of Pakistani workers on its soil.

“Pakistani companies are keen to invest in the development projects of Iraq,” Mr Bukhari said and informed his counterpart about initiatives taken by the PTI government to ensure ease of doing business in Pakistan for which the government was working out various measures to relax visa regime.

Both sides agreed to evolve a mechanism to increase supply of Pakistani manpower to Iraq.

Mr Bukhari said the economic potential of Iraq could not be ignored, adding that economic prosperity in the country presented unprecedented opportunities for Pakistani workforce.

All economic sectors in Iraq had the potential to see extraordinary growth in future and Pakistan had ample supply of manpower that could prove to be crucial for development activities in Iraq, he added.

Mr Bukhari also called on the leader of Al-Hikma party, Ammar Al-Hakim.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2019