Pakistan and Iraq have agreed to deepen their partnership and streamline arrangements for Pakistani pilgrims travelling to Iraq, following a high-level meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Iraqi counterpart, General Abdul Ameer Al-Shammari, in Brussels on Friday.

In the meeting, both ministers discussed long-term coordination between their interior ministries, focusing on creating a more organised system for pilgrim travel. The goal is to ensure smoother, safer, and better-managed journeys for thousands of Pakistanis who visit Iraq every year.

As part of the discussions, the two sides reached a consensus on expanding cooperation in several key areas — including security cooperation enhancement, counterterrorism efforts, information sharing, and preventing human trafficking. Officials from both countries will work through a joint mechanism to make this collaboration more effective and sustainable.

Minister Mohsin Naqvi thanked the Iraqi government and people for their continued support and warm hospitality towards Pakistani pilgrims. He reiterated that the safety, dignity, and facilitation of pilgrims remain a top priority for the Government of Pakistan. Naqvi also made it clear that Pakistani visitors will not be allowed to overstay their approved duration in Iraq, adding that institutions from both countries will maintain close coordination to ensure compliance.

General Al-Shammari praised Pakistan’s recent steps to regulate and formally organise pilgrim groups, calling these reforms “commendable” and noting that such effective measures have been introduced for the first time. He assured that all pilgrims included in the official list submitted by Pakistan’s Interior Ministry would be granted entry without delay.

He further announced plans to visit Pakistan soon to finalise a joint roadmap aimed at boosting pilgrim facilitation, improving bilateral ties, and expanding security cooperation enhancement between the two countries.