IRAQ’S AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE MEETS HEAD OF THE YAZIDI COMMUNITY IN UKRAINE

On September 16, 2021 His Excellency Mr. Bakir Ahmed Al-Jaff, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Iraq to Ukraine met with the head of the Yazidi community in Ukraine, Sheikh Ali Hassanian at the Embassy’s headquarters, where they exchanged views on a number of issues of common interest.

At the beginning of the meeting H.E. Mr. Ambassador welcomed the head of the Yazidi community in Ukraine and his accompanying delegation and reviewed the political and security developments in Iraq with the approach of the elections in October, 2021, noting that Iraq enjoys security and political stability, and this would permit the successful completion of the electoral process. H.E. Mr. Ambassador noted that security and stability reflected positively on the other field and aspects in the country, among which is religious tourism, taking into consideration that Iraq embraces religious and historical places of sanctity for various confessions in Najaf Al-Ashraf , Holy Karbala, Baghdad and other cities which are visited by hundreds of thousands of believers from different countries of the world.

During the meeting, H.E. Mr. Ambassador Al-Jaff affirmed the keenness to implement the directives of His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs to all Iraqi missions, emphasizing the need to communicate with the Iraqi community as well as members of different religious confessions abroad, who wish to visit the holy sites in Iraq, so as to facilitate this task. In this regard H.E. Mr. Ambassador expressed the Embassy’s readiness to provide all the necessary facilities for the Yazidi community in Ukraine to facilitate their visit to the city Lalish in Kurdistan region of Iraq as one of the holy places for them, adding that Iraq is proud of the multiplicity of components of its people who have lived for thousands of years in security and peace, pointing out that one of the most important principles of the Iraqi state after 2003 is respect for the freedom of religion and human rights.

For his part, Sheikh Ali Hassanian expressed gratitude to H.E. Ambassador Al-Jaff, on his behalf and on behalf of the Yazidi community in Ukraine, for his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations between Iraq and Ukraine in various political, economic and security fields, as well as for his cooperation with a wide range of social and religious figures in Ukraine, and providing them with assistance to overcome any obstacles they may face.