Iraq’s foreign relations politicized esp. by Islamic parties: former top diplomat

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region—Iraq’s diplomatic ties with the outside world have become politicized and political groups, especially Islamic parties have an influence on how the country conducts foreign relations, says Labeed M. Abbawi, Iraq’s retired deputy foreign minister.

“I think the ruling; especially the Islamic parties have a big influence on the running of the foreign ministry, especially in the present administration,” Abbawi who visited Rudaw studios in Erbil on Sunday, said. “The foreign ministry should be representing Iraq as a nation, as a whole.”

Abbawi, 73, who served in the foreign ministry for nine years, had this to say: “Party politics should not influence the running of the foreign ministry. Otherwise you will not have a foreign ministry of Iraq but the foreign ministry of a certain political party.”

Abbawi, who obtained a degree in mechanical engineering from London University in 1968, said that in the last decade Iraq has succeeded in opening 90 embassies abroad and the same number of foreign embassies and consulates in Baghdad.

But, he added, it was work from scratch.

“When we first came to the ministry it was in shambles,” he recalled the state of Iraq’s foreign ministry in 2004 when he first joined. “The relationship between Iraq and many Arab countries was cut, severed, and Iraq was isolated.

“We had to rebuild the ministry from the start and that took a lot of efforts such as rebuilding the norms and liberalizing the ministry and achieve credibility for Iraq with the Arab world and the international community.”

One of the main priorities for Abbawi’s office was good relations with Iraq’s neighbors.

“We put a lot of emphasis on relations with our neighbors because we are destined with these neighbors and we have to improve relations with these neighbors,” he explained. “I know there limitations within these countries, but we extend a positive arm to these countries. We try to solve all the old issues that prevailed during the last regime. We thawed the ice with these countries.”

That’s why, he believes, the visits of Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim and French President Francois Hollande to Baghdad and Erbil this month meant something to the country.

“For Iraq it means a lot,” he thought. “It is the recognition of the role of Iraq in confronting terrorism. It represents a big support for the Iraqi military against ISIS. It is also an important visit that proves Iraq is not a lone and needs help.”

On the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) conducting its own foreign relations, Abbawi explained that apart from some minor issues such as Kurds sometimes sending delegations abroad without Baghdad’s knowledge, Iraq does not mind Erbil’s diplomatic ties.

 

“Well, the Kurdish representation abroad is constitutional,” he said. “It is agreed that these representations deal with economic, trade, social and cultural relations for Kurdistan and it does not prohibit political relations given that these relations are within the framework of Iraqi representations and embassies there.”