At the request of the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and on the sidelines of the quadruple summit held today in Beirut, involving the ministers of agriculture from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan, Minister of Public Works and Transport Dr. Ali Hamiyeh held a meeting with Iraqi Minister of Agriculture Mr. Mohamed Kareem Al-Khafaji. The discussion focused on the role that the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in Lebanon can play in achieving the goals of the quadruple summit, especially regarding the transportation of agricultural products to ensure food security for the four countries and other Arab nations. This also involves establishing transit routes among them to enhance production integration and facilitate its exchange.
During the meeting, Minister Hamiyeh noted that he had made an official visit to Iraq last February, where he had several discussions with Iraqi officials, including the Iraqi Minister of Transport Captain Nasser Hussein Badr Al-Shibli. They explored the possibility of enabling Lebanese trucks to transit from unloading areas at the border into Iraqi provinces and of allowing Lebanese transit trucks to pass through Iraqi territory to other neighboring countries. He emphasized that this would undoubtedly serve the goal of food integration among the four countries and would make the desired exchange of production discussed in the summit increasingly feasible and swift.
For his part, Minister Al-Khafaji expressed his happiness at meeting with Minister Hamiyeh, considering that the integration of operations and sectors between the ministries of agriculture and transport in both countries is more than necessary and urgent to achieve the integrated goals aimed for by the quadruple summit.
