Al-Kadhimi discuss the migrant crisis with an EU diplomat

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, received on Monday the European Commission vice president for "Protecting our European Way of Life", Margaritis Schinas, and his accompanying delegation in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

According to a readout issued by his office, al-Kadhimi discussed with his guest the bilateral ties between Iraq and the European Union and ways to bolster the political, security, economic, and cultural cooperation amongst them.

Al-Kadhimi laid emphasis upon inspiring the European experience with sustainable development and creating an environment that favors investment, particularly in the post-war era.

For his part, the European diplomat the EU commitment to support Iraq in its conquest toward stability, stressing that EU will remain a "long-term strategic friend" of Baghdad. 

The meeting exchanged views on the migrant crisis at the Belarusian borders with the European Union countries and the necessary measures to halt its expansion. 

The Iraqi Prime Minister stressed the need for a mutual approach that maintains the safety of the migrants stranded at the EU borders and protects the Iraqis from fake smuggling campaigns. 

The EU vice-president expressed gratitude for the early measures Iraq took to counter the smuggling operations and shed light upon the need to repatriate the Iraqis stranded there. 

Thousands of people from around the Middle East, many of them Iraqis and Syrians, have been trying to cross into the EU this year through a backdoor opened by non-EU member Belarus.

In recent months, Belarus began offering easy tourist visas to Iraqis, Syrians, and others from the Middle East and Africa. This meant they could now reach the edge of Europe on comfortable flights to Belarus, then try to sneak into Poland, Lithuania, or Latvia, all EU members.