The foreign minister of Iraq is scheduled to embark on a historic official visit to the Philippines starting Thursday, May 31, up to June 2.
According to Iraqi Ambassador to Manila Dr. Wadee Al- Batti, Minister Hoshyar Zebari’s trip is expected to further boost bilateral ties between the two countries.
It will be the first official visit to the Philippines by an Iraqi foreign affairs minister.
“We are filled with hope and optimism that the historical visit of the Foreign Minister of Iraq...and his meetings with officials of the Republic of the Philippines will move the relation between the two countries to spacious spaces and will open wide doors to achieve more quality and quantity steps at the level of development of relations between lraq and the Philippines for the benefit of both countries,” said Ambassador Al-Batti in a statement issued yesterday.
According to the Iraqi diplomat, the “new Iraq, after the fall of the dictatorial regime, has chosen democracy and peaceful transfer of power as a way of life and in this field we have achieved great steps, at the same time we still facing challenges against the remnants of the terrorism.”
“All the reports and forecasts confirm that the Iraqis will succeed in their project of democracy and that Iraq is a source of great economic opportunities in different areas in the coming years,” he said.
“New Iraq is open to the world and wants to deal with everyone on the basis of common interests, and according to the long history of the relations between Iraq and the Philippines, it is natural for the Philippines to have a role and a stake in these opportunities,” he added.
He pointed out that the relations between Iraq and the Philippines have been strengthened after the visit of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to Iraq last January 29.
During the visit, Del Rosario invited Minister Zebari to conduct an official visit to the Philippines.
The two government officials also discussed the security situation in Iraq in light of the bombings in Baghdad, after the withdrawal of the United States military.
Ambassador Al-Batti said Del Rosario and Zebari met “so that the two countries should discuss issues from the overall bilateral relations and treat the matter separately to allow a full focus on advancing the important bilateral agenda between the Philippines and Iraq.”
Iraq and the Philippines established their diplomatic relations on January 12, 1975, and the Philippines embassy started its work in Baghdad on September, 1980.
The Philippines moved its embassy from Baghdad to the Jordanian capital of Amman as an interim measure after 2003, while the Republic of Iraq closed its embassy in Manila in September 2003, but the diplomatic relations between the two countries has not been interrupted, said Ambassador Al-Batti.-Manila Bulletin (May 31, 2012)
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