Iraq to reopen embassy in Libya after 9 years

ISTANBUL

Iraq will reopen its embassy in Libya nine years after the mission was closed for security reasons, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday evening.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Al-Sahhaf stated that “Iraq decided to reopen its embassy in Libya and resume diplomatic work to strengthen bilateral relations between the countries,” according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

This comes about three weeks after Iraq announced its desire to reopen its embassy in Tripoli.

On March 16, Al-Sahhaf stated that the decision came during meetings held by an official Iraqi delegation with the Libyan side.

There was no comment from the Libyan side on this matter.

Several countries, including Iraq, closed their diplomatic missions in Libya in 2014 amid intense armed clashes in the country.

*Ikram Kouachi contributed to this report.