The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Prime Minister Dr. Haider Al-Abbadi of Republic of Iraq inaugurated at Al-Yamamah palace here today the first meeting of Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council in the presence of United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
The King delivered a speech in which he said, " We are pleased to welcome you all in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, thanking Dr. Haider Al-Abbadi for accepting our invitation and attending the first meeting of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council.
We also thank the Secretary of State for attending this meeting which reflects the attention being paid by President Donald Trump and the American Administration to the common interests between the United States of America, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the sisterly Republic of Iraq.
We confront in our region serious challenges of extremism, terrorism and attempts to destabilize security and stability in our countries which necessitate our full coordination to confront these challenges.
As we congratulate our brothers in Iraq on the achievements made in eradicating and defeating terrorism, in which the coalition being led by the friendly United States of America participated as well as the Kingdom and friendly countries are participating, we affirm our support for Iraq's unity and stability, hoping to address the differences inside the Iraqi house through dialogue and within the framework of the Iraqi constitution.
Our presence today reflects the interest of all in this Council and the hopes we attach on it for developing and strengthening relations between our two peoples and sisterly countries in all fields. The great potentials available to our two countries provide us with a historic opportunity to build an effective partnership to achieve our common aspirations.
What binds us to Iraq is not just neighborliness and common interests, but the ties of fraternity, blood, history and one destiny.
We all look forward that the Council's meetings contribute to proceeding to further and broader prospects, and its works will be followed up from me personally and the Iraqi Prime Minister.
We pray to Allah Almighty to help us all for the good of our two countries, Arab and Islamic nations and the world at large.
Then, the Prime Minister of Iraq delivered a speech in which he lauded the development of relations between the two countries, pointing out that the 1st meeting of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council came as a result of the joint efforts and good intentions reflecting the trends and policies of the two leaderships. He has expressed thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense.
Dr. Al-Abadi reviewed a number of issues pertaining to issues of cooperation and joint interests between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The Prime Minister stressed the importance of focusing on combating terrorism, adding that the region does not bear more division and conflicts in addition to the need to end the armed conflict and to stop the policies of interference in the affairs of others.
"We believe that our security, economy, economy and interest must be formulated by joint action among the countries of the region. We want everyone to live in stability and prosperity. We are ready to unite our efforts with our brothers' efforts to start a new era of peace, stability and development," the Prime Minister of Iraq said.
Then, the US Secretary of State delivered a speech in which he lauded the Saudi-US relations and the Iraqi-US relations, stressing the need to develop these relations.
He lauded the achievements carried out by the government of Iraq in combating ISIS terrorist organization, pointing out that Iraq is in urgent need of reconstruction and promoting stability.
The US Secretary of State welcomed an establishment of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council.
Then, a minutes of establishing the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council was co-signed by Dr. Majed bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, Saudi Minister of Commerce and Investment, and Iraqi Minister Planning and Trade Dr. Salman Al-Jumayli.
The meeting was attended by a number of Saudi ministers and senior officials in addition to the members of the Iraqi and US delegations.