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The Italian Minister of Defense Roberta Pinotti visits Iraq.

On the 9th and 10th of May the Italian Minister of Defense, Roberta Pinotti, with the Chief of Defense , General Claudio Graziano, have been visiting Iraq to meet several important authorities both in Baghdad and in the Kurdistan Region. In Baghdad, Minister Pinotti met the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi and discussed about fundamental topics related to Iraqi political scene and the relations between Italy and Iraq. After the meeting with PM Al-Abadi, the Italian Minister of Defence visited the military base of Camp Dublin where she met military contingents both from Iraqi armed forces and the Carabinieri Task Force.
During the meeting with the Iraqi Prime Minister Al-Abadi, Minister Pinotti had the chance to talk about three key elements of the current political situation in Iraq and to discuss about the relations between Italy and Iraq. In particular, they exchanged views about: the political impasse that is preventing Iraq from implementing the necessary political and economic reforms; the next steps of the military campaign against Da’esh; and, finally, the bilateral military collaboration.

In the course of this encounter, Al-Abadi expressed positive expectations regarding the fact that the actual political impasse will be surely overtaken and that the Government and the Parliament will be soon able to work effectively on the reforms needed. In the second phase of the conversation, the Iraqi Prime Minister underlined several times how the recent turmoil won’t obstruct the operations against the self-proclaimed Islamic State. In this sense, Al-Abadi confirmed the will of the Iraqi Government to improve the collaboration with the international Coalition against Da’esh to release Mosul by the end of this year.

In the second part of the institutional visit in Baghdad, Minister Pinotti went to the military base of Camp Dublin, where the Caribinieri Task Force is engaged in a training mission to teach to the Iraqi military forces how to manage different kinds of threats. In this occasion, the Italian Minister of Defense had the opportunity to express her gratitude for all the hard work and the commitment shown until today. In the meantime, General Graziano met the Commander in Chief of the international coalition against Da’esh, General Sean MacFarland, to discuss the next operations related to the liberation of Mosul.

On the 10th of May, Minister Pinotti flew to Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan capital, to meet the President Masoud Barzani and the Prime Minister of the Regional Government Nechirvan Barzani. In this context, the Italian Minister of Defense had the possibility to discuss not only the actual state of the relations between Italy and the regional authorities, but also to ascertain that the presence of Italian military contingents is guaranteeing a fundamental support and an excellent source of know-how for the local armed forces.
During her staying in the Kurdistan Region, Minister Pinotti visited also the internally displaced people camp of Khanke, near the city of Dohuk, where almost 20.000 Iraqis have found a place to safely stay. In this occasion, the Italian Minister of Defense met several representatives of very active Italian NGOs (AISPO, Un Ponte Per…) that, thanks to consistent funds provided by the Italian Cooperation, have been able to support materially and psychologically ethnic and religious minorities located in the region. Moreover, Minister Pinotti personally met many beneficiaries of projects enforced by UNICEF who, thanks also to the donations of the Italian Government, has established an important rehabilitation center that provide help for those in need, especially for the young women escaped from the fury of the Islamic State. The Italian Minister of Defense not only appreciated the success of the initiatives carried on also with the contribution of the Italian Government, but also confirmed the will to continue to encourage these activities in order to guarantee a better future to Iraq and its suffering population.