Baghdad, Iraq – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Iraq for his first visit in six years Tuesday in a show of “solidarity” after a drawn-out political crisis in the country.
Guterres said he wanted to demonstrate “solidarity with the people and the democratic institutions of Iraq and a solidarity that means that the United Nations is totally committed to support the consolidation of the institutions in this country”.
He said he also wanted to express his “confidence that Iraqis will be able to overcome the difficulties and challenges they still face through an open and inclusive dialogue”.
Guterres, who landed overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in Baghdad, is due to meet Wednesday with Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, as well as representatives of women’s and youth rights groups.
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On Thursday, he will visit a camp for displaced people in the north of the country, before going to Erbil to meet with representatives of the regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan.
His last visit to the country was back in spring 2017.
He will then travel on to Qatar, where he will attend the summit of the Least Developed Countries.
Amer Al-Fayez, head of the foreign relations committee in the Iraqi parliament, also told media that the visit indicates the “big international support for PM Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s cabinet that has balanced relations with all regional and international sides.”
“The visit is crucial for Iraq as the country suffers from big environmental and water issues,” Al-Faiz said, indicating that the Iraqi government needs international support to deal with the dossiers of IDPs and refugees in the next stage.
The political and security conditions in Iraq will also be discussed, the MP stressed.
Iraq is preparing to hold provincial elections by October; early general elections are supposed to be held this year. However, pro-Iran Shia political blocs, which have a majority in the parliament, want to extend the one-year tenure of Sudani’s cabinet.