On Allawi - Hariri joint press conference

Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi Monday stressed his country's keenness to enhance relations with Syria and countries in the region, referring to the agreements recently signed between Syria and Iraq in the economic, oil and security fields.

In a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Rafic Hariri, Allawi announced that Lebanon and Iraq had agreed to establish a Higher Strategic Committee on cooperation and coordination to boost economic and trade projects between both countries.

Hariri, for his part, said talks with the Iraqi delegation dealt with the issue of restart of pumping Iraqi oil into Lebanon.

He pointed out that the issue of Iraqi deposits in Lebanon is being discussed in a way that preserves the rights of Lebanese and Iraqi people.

Earlier, Hariri and Allawi discussed in a meeting in Beirut the latest developments in the region and Iraq in addition to means of enhancing bilateral relations in the political, economic and trade fields.