14 Sep. 2004

President of Iraq visits NATO Background NATO's assistance to Iraq News 14/09/2004 President of Iraq to visit NATO HQ Opinion 14/09/2004 Transcript of the press point with NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar, President of Iraq Multimedia 14/09/2004 Visit to NATO HQ of the President of Iraq, Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar   High resolution photos   Audio file of the opening statement by NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer at the special session of the North Atlantic Council .MP3/707Kb   Audio file of the press point with NATO Secretary General, Mr. Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar, President of Iraq .MP3/6025Kb During a visit to NATO on 14 September, Interim Iraqi President Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar welcomed the Alliance’s assistance to Iraq and called for further assistance urgently. The visit came as NATO's North Atlantic Council is discussing the details of how the Alliance will support Iraq with training of its security forces and other technical assistance. In June this year, NATO Heads of State and Government agreed to assist Iraq with training of its security forces. A NATO Training Assistance Implementation Mission in Iraq was established on 30 July and has already begun training selected Iraqi headquarters personnel in Iraq. Further measures now being discussed by the Council to expand the training mission, and to develop further options for supporting the development of Iraqi security institutions. A matter of urgency The President briefed the Council, the Alliance's principal decision-making body, on the political and security situation in the country. Sheikh Al-Yawar stressed the urgency of training and equipping Iraqi security forces, particularly as Iraq prepares for elections, scheduled for January 2005. “Definitely we want to have a secure and safe environment so that Iraqis can cast their votes without being intimidated or fearing anybody,” he told reporters after the meeting. This was the first visit by Sheikh Ghazi Al-Yawar to NATO. It follows a previous visit by Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on 13 July 2004, the first ever visit by a senior Iraqi official to NATO.