Foreign Minister Assures his Lithuanian Counterpart Refusal to Have Human Traffickers in Iraqi society

On July 15, 2021, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Mr. Gabrielus Landsbergis.

 During the meeting, aspects of joint cooperation were discussed. The two sides stressed importance of strengthening cooperation and establishing diplomatic relations, in addition to the issue of immigration and immigrants, and agreed on increasing coordination between the concerned authorities in both countries in order to reach understandings that serve interests of both sides.

During a joint press conference, Mr. Hussein confirmed that: “The visit of a foreign minister to Lithuania is the first of its kind to Iraq aiming at building relations between the two countries.”

He stressed rejection of any human traffickers presence in the Iraqi society .He noted that the Iraqi constitution gives the right to every citizen to travel and voluntary immigration, reaffirming that the Iraqi government will investigate what the Lithuanian side mentioned about the existence of a network to smuggle Iraqis to Lithuania through Belarus.

For his part, the Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis pointed to the need to stop the Iraqi smuggling network, referring to the possibility of increasing diplomatic representation with Iraq, expressing his country’s readiness to cooperate and coordinate in the military and security fields.