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Iraqi official: Iraq does not oppose Nabucco project, but this is not a priority
Sheik Humam Baqer Abdul Majeed Hammoodi, who is leading a delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Parliament of Iraq in visit to Bucharest said, on Tuesday, that his country does not oppose the Nabucco project, but that this does not represent, at present, a priority.
'Iraq is not against this project, but it is not, currently, a priority. We need our resources for our local needs', underlined the Iraqi official referring to Nabucco gas pipeline, during a debate organized at the Titulescu House.
He also said that Iraq needs the experience of countries like Romania in the process of transition and democratization, pointing out that the security in his country is improved, the same as oil extraction.
In exchange, the Sheik claimed that Iraq is facing some other problems, such as those related to the need for more schools and hospitals. He said that another problem confronting his country is related to the fact that, at political level, the Power can be hardly distinguished from the Opposition.
'All the groups forming Iraq are represented in the Parliament and in the Government. Thus, it is difficult to distinguish between those at rule and those in the Opposition,' said Humam Baqer Abdul Majeed Hammoodi.
In turn, the President of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Titus Corlatean, said that the Parliament backs the approval of the treaty between Iraq and the European Union as soon as possible.
'The Romanian Parliament backs the swift ratification of the Framework Agreement of partnership and cooperation between Iraq and the EU in several areas. We will do our best that this treaty is ratified as soon as possible by the Parliament', Corlatean said.
He pointed out that Romania will support Iraqi projects in the fields of education and health services, for which it was established a concrete mechanism of implementation. He also spoke in favor of attraction of Iraqi investors.
Attending the debate, PSD deputy Adrian Nastase emphasized that Iraq managed to be reborn as a Phoenix bird, after years of war becoming a dynamic economy and a very important country in the region.
Both the Romanian side and the Iraqi one emphasized the close cooperation between Romania and Iraq in every field.
The Iraqi parliamentary delegation is paying an official visit to Romania, in the period April 10 to 12, at the invitation of the Senate's President of the Foreign Policy Committee.