At the beginning of the meeting, the Iraqi Ambassador reminded of the traditional and friendly relations between the two countries, as well as the fact that they enjoyed close economic, cultural and, especially, educational cooperation which fostered generations of Iraqis. He added that at the height of economic cooperation more than a hundred Serbian companies employing numerous workers had operated in Iraq.

Ambassador Abdul Sada stressed that the Iraqi market remains open to Serbian companies to this day, which is particularly important for the rebuilding of Iraq. Serbian companies have a comparative advantage as they are familiar with Iraqi culture, customs and way of life and have many decades of experience, stressed the Iraqi Ambassador adding that both countries would benefit from renewing economic cooperation.

National Assembly Speaker MA Nebojsa Stefanovic also advocated strengthening the economic cooperation between the two countries and suggested stimulating the development of economic relations through parliamentary cooperation. He stressed that the Serbian Government was interested in renewing economic cooperation and expressed pleasure that the initiative had been launched in the early days of the new parliamentary legislature and Government.

The National Assembly Speaker accepted the invitation to visit Iraq and suggested that the delegation he was to head should comprise representatives of the economic sector so that they might gain direct insight into the potential for new business deals in Iraq.

Both officials deemed that the visit would help intensify economic cooperation and overall relations between the two countries.