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Kuwait City: Iraq and Kuwait have signed a protocol outlining how their vessels patrol and interact in a joint waterway between their shores in the Gulf, the US Navy said on Tuesday.
A statement from the 5th Fleet said the document was signed on November 11 in a Kuwaiti naval base. US Vice Admiral Bill Gortney attended the ceremony.
Gortney said it was the "first military-to-military protocol" between Iraq and a neighbouring country, and an "historic day" for both navies.
Iraq's coastline is less than 100 kilometres long and its fledgling navy has about two dozen vessels based in Umm Qasr, the country's main commercial and only sea port.
The area is vital because Iraq's oil pipelines extend out from Umm Qasr to the terminal platforms in the sea.
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