He spoke of the progress Azerbaijan has achieved over the years of independence as a result of reforms in various fields.

Ogtay Asadov said Azerbaijan-Iraq diplomatic relations dated back to ancient times noting the Iraqi Consulate in Azerbaijan had been functioning even in the Soviet period.

The Speaker said the last years' developments in Iraq concern the people Azerbaijan who had gone through the ordeals of war.

He added that Azerbaijan is interested in establishment of many-sided relations with newly formed Iraq governmental bodies, and including the country's Parliament in particular.

Ambassador Arshad Omar Ismail spoke of the efforts being taken by the Iraqi government to reestablish peace and stability in the country. He pointed out that a lot of work has to be done in Iraq in the fields of human rights protection, development of statehood, and settlement of interethnic and inter-religious relationships, responsibility for which he said mainly lies with the Parliament as a lawmaking body.

The Ambassador stressed the necessity to establish interparliamentary cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iraq. AzerTAg