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| Iraq |
| Iraq PM assures Australia over Baghdad security plan |
| 2007-04-22 |
| BAGHDAD - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki on Saturday told visiting Australian Defence Minister Brendan Nelson that the Baghdad security plan was going in the right direction despite challenges. “The security plan currently in action is going in the right direction despite the challenges,” Maliki told Nelson, who was making a surprise visit to Baghdad. A statement from Maliki’s office said the prime minister also stressed during the meeting that Iraqis were keen “in accelerating the handover of their country’s affairs and to rely on themselves.” Maliki further urged increased cooperation with Australia in areas of trade and economy. Nelson pledged Australia’s “full support” for the Iraqi government, particularly in developing the country’s dilapidated infrastructure. “Our country is intent to play a bigger role in the reconstruction drive that is currently on in Iraq,” the statement quoted Nelson as saying. Australia has around 1,400 troops in Iraq, of which 550 are combat troops and largely deployed in the relatively calm south of the country alongside British forces. |
| Posted by:Steve White |