300,000 Pakistanis go to Iraq annually

The Pakistani ambassador to Iraq, Ahmed Amjad Ali, confirmed on Saturday, that 300,000 pilgrims come annually from Pakistan to visit the holy shrines in Iraq, and this year in particular witnessed a development in relations as a result of the numerous exchanged ministerial visits between the two countries.
Ali said in a statement reported by the official “Al-Sabah” newspaper, that “Iraq and Pakistan have strong relations and for a long time have important relations in various religious and cultural fields and the common bilateral interests between the two parties.”
He added, “300,000 pilgrims come annually from Pakistan to Iraq to visit the holy shrines, and this year in particular witnessed a development in relations as a result of the numerous exchanged ministerial visits between the two countries.
He stressed that “there is good cooperation between the two countries in many fields, including the military and defense fields, and that there are students and employees of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense studying in the Pakistani army in training courses, in addition to that many Iraqi diplomats receive diplomatic training at the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
The Pakistani ambassador pointed out that universities in his country ” annually offer fellowships in many fields to Iraqi students.”
Ali explained that “the volume of trade between Iraq and Pakistan is not the size of ambition, but there is a beginning to increase the volume of trade exchange, as there are two Pakistani cement factories in Iraq and a hotel in Karbala (Baron) in addition to a Pakistani oil company that has a contract with the Iraqi government.”