Iraq foreign minister on 3-day visit to Manila

MANILA, Philippines -  Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari arrived yesterday in Manila for a three-day visit.

Iraqi Ambassador Waddee Batti Hanna said Zebari’s visit from Feb. 19 to 21 is the first official visit to the Philippines by an Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs, which is expected to boost friendly bilateral ties between the two countries.

Hanna said relations between Iraq and the Philippines have been strengthened after the visit of Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario to Iraq last Jan. 29.

Del Rosario at the time invited Zebari to visit the Philippines to give an opportunity for officials of the two countries to discuss bilateral relations and advance the important bilateral agenda between the Philippines and Iraq.

Iraq and the Philippines established diplomatic relations on Jan. 12, 1975 and the Philippine embassy in Baghdad opened on Sept. 19, 1980.

The Philippines moved its embassy from Baghdad to the Jordanian capital Amman in 2003. Iraq closed its embassy in Manila in September 2003, but diplomatic relations between the two countries were not interrupted.

The Philippine embassy in Baghdad reopened last November.

The Iraqi-Filipino Joint Committee held its sixth meeting in Manila on 22-24 January 2009.

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Labeed Abbawi attended the Special Non-aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development on March 16 to 18, 2010 in Manila.

“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 are still facing challenges against the remnants of terrorism,” Hanna said.

He said that the 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 said.

Hanna said Iraq is optimistic that the visit of the Iraqi Foreign Minister to Manila and his meetings with officials of the Philippines will advance relations between the two countries and widen doors for the benefit of both countries.