Minister of Agriculture, an Iraqi agricultural delegation discusses development of Syrian-Iraqi agricultural cooperation

The Minister of Agriculture, Engineer Muhammad Hassan Qatna, discussed today with a delegation from the General Union of Agricultural Associations in Iraq, headed by the Vice President of the Union, Shaalan Shia, ways of cooperation in the agricultural field to serve farmers in the two countries and contribute to increasing production and exchanging products.

Minister Qatna pointed out that the Farmers’ Union is an essential partner in managing the agricultural sector, implementing agricultural plans, and organizing work with farmers, pointing out the importance of developing agricultural cooperation among all Arab countries to confront crises and invest all available resources, to achieve Arab food security.

The Minister of Agriculture referred to the cooperation agreements between Syria and Iraq, especially those that resulted from the quadripartite meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon, and the subsequent agreements in other fields, the facilities they provided, and the follow-up of their implementation in a way that serves the interests of the two countries.

Minister Qatana explained the need to expand trade exchange to include agricultural products, production requirements and others according to the needs of each country. In addition to cooperation in the fields of agricultural scientific research and the production of seedlings for greenhouses and tropical products produced on the Syrian coast and the possibility of exporting them to Iraqi markets, reducing sheep smuggling and preserving livestock, and benefiting from Iraqi experiences in producing freshwater fish through aquariums on the banks of the Euphrates River.

In turn, the head of the Iraqi agricultural delegation praised the existing agricultural cooperation between Syria and Iraq at the level of agriculture ministers and farmers’ unions, the importance of developing it to secure stability for farmers in the two countries and increase production, and the readiness of the Federation of Farmers Associations in Iraq to provide what is necessary for this.

Souha Suleiman