Foreign Minister Renews Call for European Commission to Remove Iraq from List of High-risk Countries in Terrorist Financing and Money Laundering

Foreign Minister Mr. Fuad Hussein met with Mr. Josep Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy in the European Union, at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels.

Minister Fuad Hussein praised the European Union’s positions in support of Iraq in the various developmental fields and in the field of humanitarian aid, praising the Union’s keenness to provide political and economic support to Iraq, especially its assistance in the field of confronting the Coronavirus pandemic and limiting its spread.

The two sides also touched on the meetings of the Joint Committee for Human Rights and Democracy that were held on 8/9/2020, and stressed the importance of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement concluded between Iraq and the European Union countries, as it represents the strategic framework for the relationship between the two sides, referring to the importance of resuming the meetings of the remaining committees emanating from the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the two sides, which is the Trade and Energy Committees.

Minister Fuad Hussein affirmed Iraq’s commitment to the principle of respecting the sovereignty of states and not interfering in their internal affairs, expressing his absolute rejection of Iraq turning into an arena for conflict between competing parties, or a starting point for aggression against any other country, stressing the need to support Iraq’s efforts to be a factor of stability in the region and the world.

Minister Fuad Hussein also touched on the government’s decision to hold early elections next June, and its aspiration to cooperate with international parties interested in this matter.

The two sides discussed the issue of removing Iraq from the European Commission’s list of high-risk countries in the field of money laundering and terrorist financing and renewed inviting the relevant authorities in the commission to accelerate dialogue with the concerned technical authorities in Iraq in order to complete the evaluation of Iraq’s performance in this field, and remove it from this list.

Minister Fuad Hussein extended an invitation to Mr. Borrell to visit Iraq at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss means of strengthening bilateral relations between the two sides.