ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg told Rudaw on Wednesday that he hopes the next diplomatic step after the reopening of the Austrian embassy in Iraq would be to open a consular mission in Erbil.
"I believe the next step should be to have an honorary consul here and in Basra,” the minister told Rudaw’s Payam Sarbast on the sidelines of a business forum in Erbil.
Alexander Schallenberg arrived in Erbil on Tuesday evening. His visit came after a trip to Baghdad to reopen the Austrian embassy after a 32-year absence.
"We’re not only connected by direct flight, Vienna and Erbil, but also by a longstanding friendship,” the minister reaffirmed.
"If you ask a foreign minister whether he wants to open more representations abroad, well no foreign minister anywhere will say no,” he said, adding that he hopes consular offices in Erbil and Basra will open in the “long-run.”
On Wednesday morning he met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, and is expected to later meet with Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
During the meeting, President Barzani and Schallenberg discussed bilateral relations, the continuation of direct flights between Erbil and Vienna, as well as issues ranging from migration to Europe and Erbil-Baghdad relations, according to a statement from the presidency.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and President Abdul Latif Rashid received Schallenberg separately on Monday, welcoming the decision to reopen the Austrian embassy.
Austria closed its embassy in Baghdad in 1991 over security concerns. The country has had a representation in the Iraqi capital for under a year, and the embassy is set to reopen later this month.
