PHOTO: AFP. Parliament speaker Muhammad al-Halbusi
The Speaker of Iraq’s parliament wants the United States to extend a waiver that allows it to buy electricity from Iran for at least three years, saying that it will take that long before Iraq can manage on its own.
“Hopefully, this waiver will be extended until Iraq can stand on its feet economically,” Speaker Muhammad al-Halbusi said on March 29 at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington.
Halbusi met with Vice President Mike Pence during his U.S. visit. He said that “after these three years, maybe we can see Iraq as economically independent, and we won’t need to import power or electricity from a foreign country. Maybe we can address this issue after three years”.
He also warned Washington of the negative effects of “any hasty, uncalculated step to adopt policies and procedures against countries in this region”.
Earlier on March 19, the United States extended a waiver to allow Iraq to continue to buy electricity from Iran, despite sanctions imposed by Washington targeting Tehran’s energy sector.
In November of 2018, U.S. President Trump also provided six-month waivers to Greece, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, India, and China, as long as they kept working to reduce their energy imports from Iran.
PHOTO: RFE/RL. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (left) and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev are shown during a meeting in Davos, Switzerland, in January.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian (left) and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Vienna, Austria on March 29. Hours after their meeting, Foreign Ministers of the two countries said in a joint statement, that the meeting was “positive” and “constructive” and that the leaders agreed to strengthen the cease-fire regime in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone and continue their dialogue.
“The meeting took place in a positive and constructive atmosphere and provided an opportunity for the two leaders to clarify their respective positions...They exchanged views about several key issues of the settlement process and ideas of substance”, said the joint statement, which was also signed by the U.S., Russian, and French mediators co-heading the OSCE Minsk Group.
“The two leaders underlined the importance of building up an environment conducive to peace and taking further concrete and tangible steps in the negotiation process to find a peaceful solution to the conflict”. The statement said that Aliyev and Pashinian “also agreed to develop a number of measures in the humanitarian field” and to “continue their dialogue”.
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, declared independence from Azerbaijan amid a 1988-94 war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Since 1994, it has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces that Baku says include troops supplied by Armenia.
Internationally mediated negotiations involving the OSCE's Minsk Group helped forge a cease-fire in the region that is not always honored. However, the negotiations have failed to produce a lasting settlement of the conflict so far.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
Chinese President Xi Jinping met with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in Beijing Monday. They agreed to continuously enrich the China-New Zealand comprehensive strategic partnership based on the principles of mutual trust and mutual benefit.
During their meeting at the Great Hall of the People, Xi first expressed sincere condolences to New Zealand for the deadly shootings in Christchurch two weeks ago, saying that Ardern's visit to China at a moment that her country was facing a special important agenda showed the great importance she and the New Zealand government attached to bilateral ties.
Xi said that China will support capable enterprises to invest in New Zealand, and called for the speeding up of negotiations on the upgrade of the bilateral free trade agreement. He also welcomed New Zealand to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, encouraging both countries to enhance cooperation in international affairs, jointly strive for an open world economy and uphold multilateralism and multilateral trading.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Arden thanked Xi for extending condolences over the shooting incident, and expressed condolences for the casualties occurred in a chemical plant blast in Jiangsu Province late March.
Prime Minister Arden said that she agreed with Xi’s comments on the relations between the two countries, and looked forward to strengthening the New Zealand-China comprehensive strategic partnership and deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people exchanges after this visit. She added that New Zealand pursues an independent foreign policy and firmly supports multilateralism and free trade, saying that New Zealand had long supported the Belt and Road Initiative and participated in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
Arab leaders pose for the camera ahead of the 30th Arab Summit in Tunis, Tunisia on March 31, 2019 [The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via Reuters]
Leaders of Arab states gathered for the 30th Arab Summit in Tunis, Tunisia on March 31, 2019, in hopes of forging a unified stance on crises from Libya to Palestine.
Numerous Arab heads of states attended the gathering, including Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, Mauritanian President Mohammed Ould Abdel-Aziz and Lebanese President Michel Aoun.
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi called the event a “summit of determination and solidarity”, saying that while the Arab world faces a number of conflicts and challenges, it does not lack the mechanisms, principles or resources to rebuild the region and help it realize its potential.
On the regional issues, Arab leaders reiterated their support for a two state solution with Jerusalem as Palestinian’s capital, and rejected U.S. President Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.
BY MSEAP Cyber Secretariat (mseap@assembly.go.kr) |
