AMMAN: Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi yesterday received a letter from his Iraqi counterpart Nuri Al-Maliki assuring him that under the provisions of the security pact with Washington, US troops will not be allowed to use Iraqi territory to attack Jordan or any other neighboring country, Iraqi Culture Minister Maher Hadithi said.
The Iraqi minister made the remarks to reporters after meeting with Dahabi to relay to him Al-Maliki’s message. He said that “similar letters would be sent to all Arab countries to update them on the intentions that inspired the Iraqi government to sign the security agreement.”
Responding to a question, Hadithi said that the Iraqi government insisted on the “inclusion in the security agreement of assurances to the neighboring countries that the US or other troops will not be allowed to exploit Iraq’s land and airspace to launch a war on any neighboring country or any other state in the world.”
Al-Maliki’s letters apparently followed charges by Syria that a fatal attack by US helicopter-borne troops on a Syrian village near the Iraqi border at the end of October was covered by the provisions of the security pact Baghdad planned to conclude with Washington.
Meanwhile, King Abdallah is to pay a state visit to South Korea starting on Sunday, the royal court announced yesterday. During the several-day visit, the monarch is scheduled to have talks with the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on latest Middle East developments and the prospects of boosting bilateral cooperation in various spheres, a royal court statement said.
Abdallah will also meet with leaders of the South Korean private sectors to brief them on the investment opportunities existing in Jordan, officials said. A number of cooperation accords will also be concluded during the visit, they added.
According to official statistics, the volume of trade between Jordan and South Korea reached $295 million in the first six months of the year.
South Korean exports to Jordan, mainly cars, were put at $228 million, while Jordan exported to South Korea $67 million worth of goods.
