Minister of Foreign Affairs: Our visit to the Vatican comes in appreciation and in follow up on the outcomes of His Holiness’s visit to Iraq and to translate these outcomes into projects.

Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Fuad Hussein met with the President of the Association of the Christian Pilgrimage Foundation at the Vatican Opera Romana.
At the outset of the meeting, the president of the association said that the Iraqi city of Ur represents the Prophet Abraham and he is for all mankind and our roots are there, and the pilgrimage to Ur will make us feel that we are sons of the One God, thus; we all represent the heavenly religions.

For his part, the Minister said he had the honor with the rest of the Iraqi officials in receiving His Holiness, Pope Francis, and that the visit represented a deep humanitarian message of solidarity, stressing the need to mobilize all efforts to confront the danger of discrimination and extremism, calling on the importance of spreading a culture of tolerance, peace and brotherhood and the elimination of the culture of hatred.
The Minister expressed his pride in the distinguished national role that Iraqi Christians play.
Pointing out that our visit to the Vatican is to follow up the results of the visit and turn it into a course of action and to thank His Holiness, the Pope, for taking this courageous step to visit Iraq.

He called for the rehabilitation of the city of Ur and its surrounding areas, in order to be a city for religious tourism.
He stressed the continuation of holding meetings between the two sides to arrange the organization of pilgrims to the city of Ur, and to expedite the signing of memoranda of understanding in this regard.
He noted also that the visit of His Holiness the Pope confirmed that the security situation in Iraq is stable.