Press release 01 September 2007
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Ministry of Justice

Carl Bildt visiting Iraq and Chad

On Saturday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt, along with Minister for Migration and Asylum Policy Tobias Billström, arrived in Iraq's capital, Baghdad. The visit is in response to the invitation Iraq's Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebari issued to Mr Bildt when he was in Stockholm in March this year.

The aim is to get a better picture of the overall situation via discussions with representatives of different movements in Iraq, and to discuss the conditions for the long-term process of reconciliation in the country. In its recent Resolution 1770, the UN Security Council took a decision to seek an expanded role for the UN and the international community as a whole in Iraq.

During the visit, Mr Bildt will meet with Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebari and Vice President Tariq Al-Hashemi, as well as representatives of the various smaller minority groups in the country. Mr Bildt will also meet with the UN Special Representative for Iraq, Ashraf Qazi.

Press briefing in Iraq:

Time: Saturday, 1 September at 20.30 (18.30 Swedish time)

Venue: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Baghdad

Press briefing in Jordan:

Time: Sunday, 2 September at 19.30 (18.30 Swedish time)

Venue: Grand Hyatt Hotel, Amman.

Following the visit in Baghdad, Mr Bildt will travel to Chad, via Jordan, for a three-day visit. Besides the capital N'Djamena, the agenda also includes a visit to Abeche, and possibly a trip into the field

The aim is to study primarily the humanitarian situation in eastern Chad on site, to confer with the government of Chad and different UN representatives, and to discuss the conditions for a European peace operation within the framework of the planned UN operation in Chad and the Central African Republic.

Together with Norway, Sweden is already preparing to take part in the UN peace operation in neighbouring Darfur, in Sudan.