| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| Canada opens diplomatic mission in Baghdad |
| 2013-04-02 |
| Canada opened its first diplomatic mission in Iraq in more than two decades on Monday. On a brief visit to the Iraqi capital, Baird met with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his political rival Osama al-Nujaifi, the parliament speaker, as well as inaugurated the mission, an office of the Canadian embassy in Amman that will be located on the compound of the British embassy in Baghdad. “Ten years after the Iraqi intervention, Iraq is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, despite deep and lingering sectarian tensions,” Baird said in a statement. “Canada’s trade and investment interests in Iraq have strong potential, including in the country’s north, where we will expand our dialogue with leaders in Arbil. “To pursue our interests, we know that Canada needs to be on the ground in Baghdad.” Ottawa, which did not support the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein, closed its embassy in the Iraqi capital in January 1991. The Baghdad office’s charge d’affaires will be Stephanie Duhaime. |
| Posted by:Steve White |