NEW DELHI: At a time when swathes of Iraq have been under the control of the self-proclaimed Caliphate the Islamic State, Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar on Monday extended India’s support for ‘territorial integrity’ of Iraq and promised capacity-building for the war-torn country.
Akbar, who is on a three-nation West Asian tour, met top leadership in Iraq, including President Dr Fuad Masum, President of the Council of Representatives Dr Salim al-Jabouri, Foreign Minister Dr Ibrahim Al-Eshaiqer Al-Jaafari and National Security Advisor Faleh al-Fayyadh.
“The two sides acknowledged the grave threat posed by international terrorism and its sponsors to international peace and security. They conveyed strong support to each other in their common fight against the menace of terrorism,” the MEA said. Akbar discussed issues of bilateral engagement with Iraq including defence, security and counter-terrorism. “The minister conveyed India’s willingness to partner in the reconstruction of Iraq as also for continued assistance through Government of India’s well acknowledged capacity-building programmes under ITEC programme,’ the MEA said.