Press Statement

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been following the developments of the file of Iraqi migrants since mid-June 2021. Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has made extensive contacts with his counterparts in the European Union and received a number of them in Baghdad, as the need to achieve a national response emerged to provide security and safety for Iraqi migrants and to block the road against human smuggling and human trafficking networks that were involved in these risks.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs instructed the embassies of the Republic of Iraq in Moscow and Warsaw to dispatch diplomatic teams to theplaces where the migrants are, provide them with the required support, and coordinate with the authorities in Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.

With the recent escalation of migration; the ministry has been keen to coordinate urgently with the national authorities and take the lead, aswe have so far succeeded in returning migrants on exceptional evacuation flights and through efforts coordinated by the ministry with Iraqi Airways, and the number of returnees was as follows: the first flight (431) and the secondflight ( 176), the third flight (435), and the fourth flight will be in evening (431), and the fifth flight will be next day (430), so that the total of voluntary returnees (1894).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues theefforts it has promised to complete the path of voluntary return, in order to provide the highest possible response to the security and safety of migrants.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Dr Ahmed Al-Sahhaf.

2021/11/26