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Egypt, Iraq deepen defense ties

Egypt and Iraq are expanding defense industry ties in a sign of deepening engagement among Cairo, Baghdad and Amman.

Egyptian soldiers stand guard during an organised tour for diplomats to mark the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of the Suez Canal, in the northeastern city of Ismailia on November 17, 2019. - One hundred and fifty years after the Suez Canal opened, the international waterway is hugely significant to the economy of modern-day Egypt, which nationalised it in 1956. The canal, dug in the 19th century using "rudimentary tools" and which links the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, was opened to navigation in 1
Egyptian soldiers stand guard during an organized tour for diplomats to mark the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of the Suez Canal, in the northeastern city of Ismailia on Nov. 17, 2019. — KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

CAIRO — Egypt is working to enhance its cooperation and relations with Iraq, notably in the military field.

During a Dec. 10 meeting with Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals Manhal Aziz Mahmoud in Cairo, Egyptian Minister of State for Military Production Mohamed Ahmed Morsi announced his country’s readiness to develop Iraq's defense industry and establish complete production lines in Iraq.

According to a Dec. 10 statement released after the meeting by the ministry, the Iraqi side agreed on mutual visits by technical delegations from both countries to discuss the production of weapons and ammunition.

On Dec. 9, an Iraqi delegation headed by Iraq’s Minister of Planning Khalid Batal Najim signed a number of agreements in the economic, agricultural and military industry fields during a visit to Cairo. 

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