2023-09-08 04:48:08
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg is visiting Iraq from Monday to Wednesday. Meetings with President Abdul Latif Rashid, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein are planned in Baghdad. In addition, the Austrian Embassy in Baghdad will be ceremonially reopened. “It’s important that we show presence,” explained Schallenberg in advance. A bilateral economic forum is scheduled for Wednesday in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region.
Iraq is not only “an important partner” when it comes to migration, emphasized the Foreign Minister (ÖVP) in an interview with APA. He is also a “stability factor” in the region. “If that slips, the whole region slips.” There are “a wide variety of interests struggling in the background to influence Iraq.” Austria last had an embassy in Iraq until 1991. According to the Foreign Ministry (BMEIA), the decision to be present in Baghdad again reflects the increased importance of Iraq for Austria and Europe.
Schallenberg: “Our security doesn’t just begin at the national border. The more than 100 foreign representations are part of our security structure, and I count Baghdad among them in the first place.” With its on-site presence, Austria is not only sending a sign of support to Iraqi partners, but is also strengthening the “early warning system” with regard to developments in the area of migration, according to the Foreign Ministry (BMEIA). “Just recently, two agreements were signed with Iraq, which are also intended to improve operational cooperation in migration management.”
Finally, the reestablishment of an embassy will also help to increase the trade and investment potential between Austria and Iraq. And further: “Located in the heart of an extremely volatile region of the world, it is in our interest to contribute to the stability of Iraq and to strengthen democratic processes and structures there.”
Austria will therefore also take part in the NATO training and advisory mission (NMI) from autumn. “Because the still fragile security situation in the country is still breeding ground for extremism, terrorism and illegal migration.” The army is said to be involved in the mission with up to ten military personnel. In connection with neutral Austria’s participation in a NATO mission, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to its long-standing commitment as part of the NATO initiative “Partnership for Peace”. The basis under international law for Austria’s participation in the NMI is therefore UN Security Council Resolution 2249 of November 20, 2015. It called on all UN member states to “prevent and suppress” terrorist acts in Iraq.
At the time, the resolution referred to measures against the jihadist militia “Islamic State” (IS) and similar groups in Iraq and Syria. The IS had conquered large parts of Syria and Iraq from 2014, but was defeated in Iraq at the end of 2017 and in Syria in 2019. In June, Foreign Minister Schallenberg and Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner (ÖVP) welcomed the decision to involve the Austrian Armed Forces and emphasized the importance of Austria’s involvement in Iraq, also for national security.
“The terrorist group ‘Islamic State’ has been shaken to its foundations, but not completely destroyed. The fragile security situation and the weakness of state institutions continue to be a breeding ground for extremism, terrorism and illegal migration. We must not overlook the fact that these developments also have an impact on us to Europe. By participating in the training and education mission, Austria can make a significant contribution to more security and stability,” the minister said at the time. “Iraq is a key factor for stability in the region. Iraq’s security therefore also has a direct impact on Europe and Austria. With our participation in the NATO training mission, we support our Iraqi partners in the fight against terrorism and thus also combat the causes of flight and illegal migration from the region,” emphasized Schallenberg.
The political system in Iraq is on shaky ground 20 years after the US troops invaded to remove the then dictator Saddam Hussein and 12 years after the at least partial withdrawal. The Iraqi parliament appointed the Kurdish politician Abdul Latif Rashid as president in October last year, paving the way for the formation of a new government after more than a year of political deadlock. The 78-year-old UK-trained engineer was Minister for Water Supply from 2003 to 2010. The president in Iraq has a predominantly ceremonial function. However, his appointment is a critical step in forming a new government.
The Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr emerged victorious from the parliamentary elections on October 10, 2021. However, he could not form a government. Sadr’s 73 MPs withdrew from parliament in the summer after he announced that he no longer wanted to be active in politics. The step led to the worst outbreak of violence in years. In Iraq, the president is elected from among the Kurds, the prime minister is a Shia and the speaker of the parliament is a Sunni. Disputes between the largest Kurdish parties had previously prevented the appointment of a president.
After the meeting with the political leadership in Baghdad on Tuesday, a visit to the EU support mission EUAM in Camp Dublin is also on the program for Schallenberg in the late afternoon. Iraqi police units were also trained in the former US military camp as part of the NATO training mission.
The flight to Erbil will take place on Tuesday evening. There the foreign minister will meet with the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nechervan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and the Chairman of the nationalist-conservative Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), Massoud Barzani, and the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako. have conversations.
Patriarch Sako had announced in mid-July that he was withdrawing from the patriarchal residence in Baghdad and going to a monastery in the autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq. A letter said he made the decision because Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid repealed a 2013 special decree issued by former President Jalal Talabani. This had given Sako far-reaching powers to administer Chaldean foundation affairs and officially recognized him as head of the Chaldean Church.
Participation in an Austrian-Iraqi economic forum is also planned for Schallenberg in Erbil, since the Kurdistan-Iraq region is of particular interest as a trading partner. The situation of the Kurds in the region is a question that affects the entire region, Schallenberg recalled. “Through Turkey, Syria and Iraq.” However, Austria has always maintained contact, the Foreign Minister reminded. The first “direct flights to the West” were operated by Austrian Airlines between Erbil and Vienna.
In the Kurdish region in northern Iraq there are regular tensions between the various population groups, especially in the city of Kirkuk, which is almost 100 kilometers from Erbil. Four people were killed during demonstrations by rival ethnic groups in early September. The reason for the protests was an announcement by the central government in Baghdad that an army headquarters in the city would be cleared and handed over to the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP).
Arab and Turkmen residents then demonstrated for days against the plans. Kurds held counter-protests and spoke out in favor of the project. Violence broke out between the neighboring groups on Saturday, the media reported. Shots are also said to have been fired. According to the city’s governor, the central government finally decided to postpone its plans for the time being. According to eyewitnesses, calm returned to Kirkuk. A curfew temporarily imposed in the city has been lifted.
The ethnically mixed location, which is important for oil production, is under the control of the central government, but is also claimed by the Kurdish autonomous government in northern Iraq. Kurds, Arabs and members of the Turkmen minority live in the village. Kurdish Peshmerga troops took control of the multi-ethnic city in 2014 after Iraqi government forces fled a lightning offensive by the jihadist militia “Islamic State” (IS).
The KDP closed its offices there when the Iraqi central government took control of the entire province in 2017. Earlier, the country’s Kurdish minority in the area held an independence referendum that was not accepted by Baghdad. The central government then took a firm hand. Relations between the two sides later improved. The loss of the oil-rich region of Kirkuk was particularly bitter, however, because oil exports from the area provided a large part of the autonomous region’s revenues.
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