Mine organizations sign collaboration agreement

ERBIL, July 27 — The Iraqi Kurdistan Mine Action Agency (IKMAA) announced on Wednesday it signed a memorandum of cooperation with its counterpart in the federal government.

The memorandum includes a new plan to re-establish a partnership and provide centralized funding, allowing both parties to work beyond administrative borders, both within and outside the region.

Delegations from both sides met in Erbil this week to draft the memorandum, which requires approval from the Iraqi Council of Ministers and the Kurdistan Regional Government. This comes after a hiatus in cooperation between the two agencies since 2013.

Jabar Mustafa, the head of IKMAA, told 964, “Thanks to this agreement, our agency will benefit from the funding provided by the Iraqi government, and in return, the Iraqi Mine Action Agency will benefit from training facilities for personnel in Kurdistan.”

“The cooperation between the two sides had been suspended in previous years, but according to the new agreement, organizations licensed by one side of the administrative borders will be allowed to operate on the other side as well.”