Diplomacy: Scholz receives new Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Sudani

diplomacy
Scholz receives new Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Sudani

Chancellor Olaf Scholz will speak to Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani. photo

© Kay Nietfeld/dpa

At home, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani faces enormous tasks. During his first visit to Berlin, the new Iraqi Prime Minister is likely to campaign for support in the fight against the terrorist militia IS.

After months of power struggles in Iraq, Iraq’s new prime minister, Mohammed Schia al-Sudani, is traveling to Berlin to visit Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). The new head of government is under pressure to lead his country out of a serious political and economic crisis after years of war against the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS). Before the reception at Scholz today with military honors, a meeting with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is also planned.

The central topic of the talks with Scholz could be the notoriously poor power supply in Iraq. According to information from Baghdad, a declaration of intent will be signed during the visit to improve power generation in the country with the help of the Munich-based Siemens group. There were no further details at first. The constant power cuts, along with the poor economic situation and corruption, are one of the reasons for the mass protests that have shaken Iraq in several waves since 2019. Unemployment is high. About 30 percent of the population lives in poverty.

support from Germany

The long political crisis in Iraq escalated violently a few months ago. Militias fought heavy battles with volleys of fire in the so-called Green Zone in Baghdad. Several people were killed and hundreds injured. Supporters of the influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr had previously stormed and occupied the government palace with the prime minister’s office and the parliament building. After a parliamentary election, a year passed before the current government was formed.

“The challenges are enormous and reforms must be implemented quickly,” the German Foreign Ministry declared when the new Iraqi government took office in October. Germany is a “reliable partner” and will continue to support the country.

In October, the Bundestag extended the mandate for the deployment of German soldiers to stabilize Iraq by one year. Up to 500 men and women are on site as part of this operation. The Bundeswehr supports the fight against IS with transport tasks and air refueling for allies and partners, and German soldiers are also involved in training local forces.

IS in Iraq and Syria

A few years ago, the IS controlled large areas in Iraq and Syria and proclaimed a so-called caliphate there. The terrorists there have now been defeated militarily, but they are still active and carrying out attacks. At the end of December, eight people were killed in a terrorist attack that bore the signature of IS about 60 kilometers from Baghdad. In Erbil in the north, security forces foiled two attacks that, according to Kurdish sources, IS wanted to carry out there over New Year’s Eve.

“On the whole, the group appears to be stable and neither shrinking nor growing,” said a report by the Dutch Clingendael Institute on the threat posed by IS in Iraq last year. “The volume of IS attacks has increased, but mostly in the form of small and localized incidents.” The IS acts “flexibly” and is primarily active on the axis between Sinjar near the Syrian border and Baghdad.

dpa

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