Monday, July 02, 2007
Iraqi / Iranian Agreement To Fix The Shatt Al Arab Situation
Government, Regional
(Al Istaqama Newspaper) - 1 JUL - On June 30th, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry announced an Iraqi / Iranian agreement to form a joint committee to fix the Shatt Al Arab situation has been reached. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement was released after a visit to Iran by an Iraqi delegation. The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs met with the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuchehr Motaki, to discuss bilateral relations and methods to develop them.
The statement added they discussed the river border between the two countries, especially the Shatt Al Arab issue. The Deputy Foreign Minister confirmed that the Shatt Al Arab has changed. Motaki confirmed that the Shatt Al Arab issue is important for both sides. Recently, he visited the area and saw that the path of the river has changed toward the Iraqi side. Motaki added that both countries need a quick solution to fix this situation and return the river to its original path. Motaki mentioned the necessity of starting to work with a joint committee to fix the problem. Both sides agreed to form this committee and to work quickly.
The statement added that the Iraqi government will name its representatives for this committee within the next few days. The Deputy Foreign Minister confirmed that there is no problem with the normal borders because the grids have been determined in the “Al Istana Protocol” in 1913, 1975 and 1937 agreements. During the meeting between the Iraqi Foreign Ministry and the Iranian Foreign Ministry, they signed an agreement to open General Consulates (Iraqi and Iranian) to improve the friendship and neighboring relations between the two countries.
Labels: Al Istana Protocol, Manouchehr Mottaki, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shatt al-Arab
