Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Dmitry Medvedev: Welcome! It’s good that we’ve been meeting more frequently lately. And this is a good occasion for you to visit our country. Earlier, we discussed gas issues and now we can focus on strengthening ties between Russia and Iraq, which have progressed in the past few years. Your visit will give momentum to our relations. Trade between our countries has tripled since 2011, and this is by no means the limit. I hope we will discuss all these issues. Welcome once again, I’m glad to see you here.
Nouri al-Maliki (via interpreter): Thank you very much, Mr Prime Minister. Let me express my deep gratitude, and gratitude on behalf of Iraq, to Russia, a country we have a very good relationship with. I would like to thank Mr Putin for holding this gas summit. Thank you for inviting us to this forum. Iraq is new to the club of gas producers. We mainly produce oil. Although production has slightly decreased, it remains at a high level. We share your satisfaction with the development of bilateral relations between our countries. However, the horizons we are aiming for are still far away, and reaching them will require additional joint efforts by our countries. I think all areas of cooperation are open to us.
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