Jordan apologized to Baghdad for raising the Iraqi flag during the era of the late President Saddam Hussein during the signing of an agreement in the capital Amman last Wednesday, stressing that it was an "unintended mistake."

A statement by the Jordanian Ministry of Agriculture pointed out that a protocol error had occurred, represented in the placement of the Iraqi flag, which was approved by the wording of God Akbar in green Kufic script and its three stars before removing it according to the last amendment.

He added that the ministry clarifies that it is an unintended mistake, stressing that Jordan respects the options of the brotherly Iraqi people and supports them for the sake of a strong and prosperous Iraq.

The Iraqi Minister of Agriculture Muhammad al-Khafaji had demanded that Jordan apologize for raising his country's former flag, during the signing ceremony of a contract with his Jordanian counterpart in Amman.

Al-Khafaji said, in a statement on Friday, that he was surprised by the presence of the former Iraqi flag, before concluding a contract with his Jordanian counterpart, Khaled Al-Hanifat (Wednesday).

He added that he refused to sign (the contract), and stipulated that it be removed (the flag), and the current flag of the country should be placed in order to complete the signature, without additional explanations. Al-Khafaji called on the Jordanian side to submit an apology for what happened.

On Wednesday, the Jordanian capital, Amman, hosted the tripartite coordination meetings between Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, to ​​enhance joint cooperation, especially in the economic aspect.

Ministers from the three countries participated in the meetings, in sectors including industry, trade, electricity, oil, housing, agriculture and transportation.

These meetings came in implementation of the outputs of a tripartite summit held in Amman in August 2020, which brought together King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, and Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi.

Iraq had adopted a new flag in 2008, five years after the Saddam Hussein regime was toppled by international forces led by the United States.

The current Iraqi flag preserved its main colors, which are red, white and black, with the three stars that symbolized unity, freedom and socialism, were removed from the goals of Saddam's banned Baath Party.

The script of the phrase "God is Great", written by the late President Saddam Hussein, was also changed to write in Kufic script.