By B Izzak and agencies

KUWAIT: Kuwait Ambassador to Iraq Tariq Al-Faraj on Tuesday discussed with Iraqi Minister of Defense Thabet Al-Abbasi the bilateral relations and ways to develop them. The meeting dealt with several files of common interest and the mechanisms for enhancing cooperation between the two countries and serving the interests of the two brotherly peoples, Ambassador Al-Faraj told said. The Iraqi minister asked Al-Faraj to convey an invitation to Kuwait Minister of Defense Sheikh Ahmed Fahd Al-Sabah to visit Iraq.

Meanwhile, MP Jarrah Al-Fouzan asked the foreign minister about the total value of loans and grants offered by Kuwait to Iraq since the liberation of the country from a seven-month Iraqi occupation in February 1991. He also inquired about the commitment of the Iraqi government to repayment of the loans. The lawmaker also demanded copies of all cooperation agreements signed by the two countries in the past three decades, especially agreements related to promotion of investments in Iraq.

In another question, MP Fouzan said that in 2018, Kuwait hosted a conference for Iraqi reconstruction in which pledges by the international community reached $30 billion, of which Kuwait contributed $2 billion, one billion in the form of a loan and the other billion in the form of direct investments in Iraq. He asked if Iraq had repaid the $1 billion loan.

He also asked the minister about the total value of Kuwaiti investments in Iraq over the past five years. The lawmaker demanded a copy of a protocol signed by the two countries regarding joint investments in border oilfields and what happened about the agreement. Meanwhile, MP Adel Al-Damkhi called on Tuesday for the government to transfer the forensic and criminal evidence department from the interior to the justice ministry in order to avoid legal problems.