Stockholm, 21 April 2006 (KRG) -
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nordic representation
welcomes the decision by the Swedish Foreign Ministry to exclude the
KRG controlled areas in Iraq from its otherwise strictly dissuasive
travel advice to Iraq.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry had previously advised against travel
by Swedish citizens to all regions of Iraq due to the severity of
the security situation. In the recent reconsideration of this travel
advice on 18 April, the Foreign Ministry states: "The Foreign
Ministry advises against all travel to Iraq (with the exception of
the three governorates of Duhok, Erbil and Sulamaniyah in northern
Iraq)".
In response to this decision, the KRG's Representative to the Nordic
states Taha Barwary said, "I think the Swedish Foreign Ministry’s
new travel advice to Iraq is very positive news. T
he KRG Nordic has worked for some time to change the travel advice
to accurately reflect the current security situation in the
different regions in Iraq.
This is a positive signal from Sweden. Kurdistan has been, and
continues to remain, a highly secure area for foreign visitors such
as diplomats and businessmen."
The KRG Nordic Representation hopes that the revised travel advice
will contribute to closer cooperation in the already budding
relations between Sweden and the Kurdistan Region, not least in
business-related areas.
Mr Barwary added, "I sincerely hope that other foreign ministries
will follow suit and acknowledge the high level of security that
prevails in Kurdistan."
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