Chargé d’Affaires ad Interim of the Republic of Iraq in Brussels Meets Member of the European Parliament

  The Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the Republic of Iraq, Minister Plenipotentiary, Dr Fadel al-Rahim, has met, at the headquarters of the European Parliament in Bressels, the Spanish representative, Mr Javier Nart, member of the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Security and Defence in the European Parliament. During the meeting, they discussed ways of enhancing the cooperation between the Republic of Iraq and the European Union, in addition to exchanging views on the security and political developments at the regional and international levels.

Dr al-Rahim briefed on the latest developments of the cooperation between Iraq and the European Union, reviewing the positive steps taken by the concerned authorities in the Iraqi government, which culminated in lifting Iraq from the European Union’s list of high-risk countries in the field of money laundering and financing of terrorism,  referring to the efforts exerted by both sides at present to lift the European air embargo imposed on Iraqi airlines and the close cooperation between the two sides in the field of migration and the voluntary return of a number of Iraqis stranded at the borders of the European Union with Belarus. Then, they discussed the regional and international security situations, including the ongoing Turkish violations of Iraqi territories, and the Russian- Ukrainian crisis and its repercussions on the security of the European continent and food security in the world.

On his part, the Representative Mr Nart affirmed the European Union’s keenness to continue the joint cooperation between the two sides on all political, economic and security fields, referring to the importance of  the role played by Iraq in the Middle East, confirming that Europe views Iraq as a reliable partner in the field of security and defence, combating terrorist groups, and has an important role in realising stability in the region, commending also the efforts and mediations conducted by the Iraqi government to defuse crises in the Middle East.

At the end of the meeting, the two sides discussed means of activating the relations and cooperation between the Security and Defense Committee of the European Parliament and its counterpart in the Council of Representatives of Iraq.