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NATO mission in Iraq: Ambassador Greganti and General Figliuolo at the takeover ceremony of the Italian command

The Ambassador of Italy to Iraq, Maurizio Greganti, and the Head of the Joint Operations Command, General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, attended this morning the takeover ceremony of the comman of the NATO mission in Iraq (NMI), which will be guided by Italy for the next 12 months. After the Danish leadership of General Michael Lollesgaard it will be up to Italy, in the person of General Giovanni Maria Iannucci, to coordinate the activities of the Atlantic Alliance in Iraq.

The ceremony, held at the UNION III military base in Baghdad, opened with the speech of the NATO Deputy Supreme Commander for Europe, Gen. Tim Radford, who thanked Gen. Lollesgaard for his work and for the progress achieved in the development of the Iraqi defence strategy, also in coordination with Operation Inherent Resolve of the Global Coalition. The outgoing Commander, while thanking Gen. Radford, stressed the importance of mutual respect and trust with local counterparties in all advising activities. The NATO mission is active since 2018 at the request of the Iraqi Government.

The new Commander, Gen. Iannucci, stressed the great responsibility and honor that the command of NMI represent for Italy, which assumes for the first time this commitment in a fundamental area for defense and foreign policy of Italy. Gen. Iannucci concluded by stressing the centrality of teamwork, which will be essential for the success of the mission.

The NATO Mission in Iraq (NMI) is a non-combat, training and advising mission for the Iraqi Government, based on full respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of the Country. The main counterparts of NMI are the Ministry of Defence, the Office of the National Security Adviser and the relevant defence and security institutions of Iraq.

NMI’s aim is to support the training capacity of Iraqi forces in a wide range of areas: countering-improvised explosive devices, explosive ordnance disposal, demining, civilian-military planning, military medicine, etc.; support the relevant ministries in Iraq in the development of a sustainable military structure through civil-military cooperation; carry out an important action against terrorism by supporting the development of national security capabilities and preventing the return of Daesh.

NMI works in collaboration with the European Union and the United Nations on the reform of the Iraqi security sector, ensuring coordination and complementarity between the various activities; with the Global Coalition, the International Organizations and the Allied Countries, NMI collaborates in countering corruption, Rule of Law, the Law of Armed Conflict, Protection of Civilians, Children and Armed Conflict and Women Peace and Security.