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Aegean Airlines will become the first European airline to fly directly to Baghdad when it launches a route from Athens later this year, Greece’s foreign minister said on Thursday during a visit to Iraq.
The Greek airline will operate its first flight from Athens to the Iraqi capital on December 16, Giorgos Gerapetritis said.
The airline already flies to Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq, but had previously avoided flying to Baghdad due to security concerns.
“I think this will significantly strengthen not only the economic ties but also the cultural ties between our people,” Gerapetritis said at a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein.
President Hussein welcomed the move in a statement, saying the two countries were also discussing “cooperation in the areas of agriculture, investment and tourism.”
President Hussein added that recent visits by European leaders demonstrate the “stability that the country is experiencing” and its “improved standing on the international stage.”
Plans are underway to renovate Baghdad’s international airport. Iraq recently awarded a $764 million (€573 million) contract to expand and operate the airport to a global consortium made up of Luxembourg-based airport operator Corporación America Airports and Iraqi investment company Amwaj International.
Iraq will hold parliamentary elections on November 11, with incumbent Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani seeking a second term, something his predecessor largely failed to achieve.
Al-Sudani, who came to power in 2022 with the support of pro-Iran political parties, has since sought to balance relations with Iran and Washington.
Around 8,000 candidates (2,248 women and 5,520 men) will be vying for 329 seats in the country’s parliament in the November vote.
After a US-led invasion toppled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraq grappled with a security vacuum and the rise of armed extremist groups such as the so-called Islamic State.
Additional sources of information • AP