The Decision to Return Iraqis Abroad is not Subject to the Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Ministry has confirmed that it is closely coordinating the return of Iraqis abroad who have traveled during the past three months.

Foreign Ministry official spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahaf said, “The Foreign Ministry is coordinating closely of the return of Iraqis abroad who have traveled during the past three months, and as stipulated in the decisions of the Crisis Cell.”

He added that “the decision to return the Iraqis or to determine the categories involved in the return is not within our work, stressing that the Iraqi embassies in the world list the names of Iraqi travelers who wish to return, and the reports are presented to the crisis cell in order to obtain the decision to return.”

He pointed out that “the Iraqi embassies document the names and coordinate with the Ministry in Baghdad, as well as with the Iraqi Airways office in the country concerned.”

He explained that “the Foreign Ministry has contributed through its embassies in many countries to the return of hundreds of Iraqi travelers in Egypt, India and Turkey, and work is under way to return the rest of them in other countries.

Al-Sahaf pointed out that “all of our embassy abroad allocated hotlines to receive appeals and answer Iraqi questions, in addition to publishing announcements and instructions in this regard via its electronic platforms.” He added that “the Ministry provided food supplies and treatment to many Iraqi families residing in several countries. “