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On August 10, the Head of the RA NA Armenia-Iraq Friendship Group Rustam Bakoyan received the delegation led by the Minister of Culture and Youth of the Iraqi Kurdistan Mohammad Said Ali.

The RA NA deputy Knyaz Hasanov, the Consul General of the Republic of Armenia in Erbil Arshak Manukyan took part in the meeting.

Welcoming the guests in parliament, Rustam Bakoyan highlighted the visit of the delegation to Armenia. The MP expressed conviction that it will be effective and will promote the activation of the relations between the two countries. Rustam Bakoyan spoke about the need of exchange of experience in different spheres.

“The Near East Region is very important for us: different nationalities live there, including Armenians and Yazidis,” the Head of Armenia-Iraq Friendship Group underlined.

The Minister of Culture and Youth of the Iraqi Kurdistan thanked Rustam Bakoyan for the reception. Mohammad Said Ali has underscored that during the meetings held in recent days he has noticed that the rights of the national minorities are protected in Armenia. The guest has noted that the Armenian and the Kurdish people have a number of commonalities, similar pages of history. The Minister expressed condolences to the Head of the RA NA Armenia-Iraq Friendship Group on the Yazidis’ genocide in Shangal.

The importance of the work of the representatives of the national minorities in parliaments was touched upon for the benefit of the protection of the interests of the given community and preserving the cultural values.

The sides emphasized the role of the Armenian community of the Iraqi Kurdistan in the public and cultural life of the country.

During the meeting a number of issues related to the deepening of bilateral cooperation were discussed.