Malaysia finalising details to reopen embassy in Iraq

LUMUT - The Foreign Ministry is finalising details to reopen the Malaysian Embassy in Iraq, its minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir said today.

The process includes discussions with the Iraqi Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister soon involving several aspects, such as logistics.

"I held a meeting with the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister in Azerbaijan in early June and he asked Malaysia to swiftly reopen its embassy (in Iraq).

"I have informed the Cabinet about the matter and it has been agreed and approved two months ago, so it’s hoped that the final process will witness the reopening of our embassy there.

We hope that our relations will have a positive impact. As we all know, Petronas has several important concerns in Iraq and I am confident we can explore opportunities in other fields there,” he said at a media conference after attending a community programme in Pulau Pangkor today.

Zambry also said that the embassy would play an important role not only in strengthening diplomatic relations between both countries but also provide added value in economic terms, especially in investments.

He added that the government will consider reopening embassies in several countries, including in the African continent that previously faced armed conflict similar to Iraq, but the matter needed to be finetuned and take various factors, like security and national interests, into consideration.

"We need to consider all these factors before reopening as we want to avoid unexpected or untoward incidents that will negatively impact the country,” he said.

He had previously stated on March 26 that the government, through his ministry, was studying suggestions to reopen embassies in several countries, adding that a team would be set up to see to all the aspects needed for such an effort. - BERNAMA