CAIRO, September 16. /TASS/. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani will participate in the first Russia-Arab summit, scheduled to take place on October 15 in Moscow, and intends to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iraqi prime minister's National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji said.

As reported by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), al-Araji, during talks with Secretary of the Russian Security Council Sergey Shoigu, who is visiting Baghdad, "discussed preparations for the upcoming meeting between al-Sudani and Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of the [Russia-Arab] summit in Moscow." Al-Araji stated that the prime minister will lead the Iraqi delegation at the upcoming summit in the Russian capital.

During the meeting with Shoigu, the advisor to the Iraqi prime minister emphasized that "the Iraqi government is seriously committed to developing strategic relations with Russia, including in the field of security."

Shoigu arrived in Baghdad on a working visit, during which he will hold meetings with Iraq’s top political and military leadership, the Russian Security Council’s press service reported.

"The upcoming meetings are expected to convey Russia’s intention to further deepen and expand cooperation in the field of security," the press service noted. "In addition to current aspects of Russian-Iraqi bilateral cooperation, regional issues will also be discussed during the talks in Baghdad," they added.