Qatari ruler, KRG head discuss strengthening cooperation

DOHA, Qatar (AA) – Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad on Wednesday held talks with the head of northern Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), Masrour Barzani, in the capital Doha.

The discussions dwelt on cooperation relations and aspects of their development and a number of issues of mutual interest, the state news agency QNA reported.

Barzani arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for an official visit upon an invitation from the Qatari ruler.

The KRG said in a statement that the talks between the two leaders touched on the latest developments in Iraq “especially efforts to form a new government."

The discussions also took up ways of strengthening relations in the fields of economy, trade and investment as well as “the importance of continuing coordination on issues of common interest.”

Earlier on Wednesday, the KRG said Barzani met with the Qatari Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, and Minister of Commerce and Industry, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani.

He discussed “developing relations in commerce and various industries with the Qatari Minister of Commerce and Industry, with an emphasis on increasing trade and investment,” the statement said.

In his meeting with al-Kaabi, the two discussed “the strengthening of ties between Erbil and Doha, particularly increasing cooperation in relation to energy and natural gas.”

Iraq is seeking to import natural gas from Qatar in an effort to reduce the shortage of fuel for the country's electric power production plants, and to compensate for the decline in supplies coming from Iran.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara