Foreign Minister Støre visits Iraq

Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is visiting Baghdad on Monday 29 June. He will have meetings with Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hosiyar Zebari, Minister for Human Rights Wijdan Michel Salim  and representatives of NGOs and the UN. “I have hoped to be able to visit Iraq for quite some time, and I am pleased the opportunity has now come,” said Foreign Minister Støre.

“Contact between Norway and Iraq has lately become closer, and I will therefore inform the Iraqi Foreign Minister today that Norway will establish a diplomatic presence in Baghdad,” said Mr Støre.

Norway will establish an embassy office in Baghdad, which will be under the Norwegian Embassy in Amman.

“I also hope to obtain more information about democratic, social and economic developments in Iraq, where a lot still remains to be done, although progress has been made. In order to get an overview of the situation, I will meet civil society representatives and the International Committee of the Red Cross in addition to the Iraqi authorities,” said the Foreign Minister.

On 15 May, the Norwegian and Iraqi authorities signed an agreement on the return of Iraqi nationals, and implementation of the agreement will be one of the items on the agenda in the Foreign Ministers meetings. The Norwegian business sector is considering increasing its involvement in the Iraqi energy sector, and this will also be a topic of discussion.

Press contact: Head of Communication Bjørn Jahnsen, mobile phone: 971 64 843.