Congratulations sent to new Iraqi leadership

President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory message on Saturday to Abdul Latif Rashid on his election as the Iraqi president.

Xi pointed out that China and Iraq share a tradition of friendship, and the political mutual trust between the two countries in recent years has been increasingly consolidated. Practical cooperation in various fields has also made steady progress.

Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Iraq relations and stands ready to work with President Rashid to promote new progress in the China-Iraq strategic partnership, so as to benefit the two countries and their peoples.

On Thursday, Iraq's parliament elected Rashid as president, ending a year of deadlock after a national election in October last year. Rashid was later sworn in as the president of Iraq, the country's fifth president since 2003.

Rashid, 78, is a veteran Kurdish political leader from the city of Sulaimaniyah in northeastern Iraq. He worked as minister for water resources from September 2003 to December 2010.

He is an active member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, or PUK.

Rashid was formerly a PUK spokesperson in Britain, where he completed his undergraduate, graduate and doctoral studies.

Xinhua - Agencies