German-Iraqi relations
|
|
|
|
| Germany | Iraq |
German-Iraqi relations are bilateral relations between Germany and Iraq . Iraq has an embassy in Berlin , Germany has an embassy in Baghdad .
About 250,000 Iraqis currently live in Germany.
History of German-Iraqi Relations
Relations with the GDR (East Germany)
Iraq was the first non-communist state to fully diplomatically recognize the GDR . Diplomatic recognition was announced on May 2, 1969 by the then Foreign Minister of the GDR, Otto Winzer , in the newspaper Neues Deutschland .
This decision followed a long visit by then Iraqi Foreign Minister Abdul Karim al-Shaykhli to the Soviet Union and East Germany, which lasted from March 20 to March 31, 1969. The result of this visit were negotiations in which it was decided to improve the relationship between the two states and to cooperate more closely with one another. As a result, Iraq became the first non-aligned state to fully recognize the GDR (in addition to the 13 states that were members of the Soviet bloc).
The GDR and Iraq also cultivated trade relations with one another. Iraq mainly exported oil to the GDR, while the GDR supported Iraq by exporting military vehicles and weapons to Iraq. This was also the case in 1982 during the First Gulf War between Iraq and Iran , but the GDR exported weapons to both Iraq and Iran to procure foreign currency .
Relations with the FRG (West Germany and reunified Germany)
Although Iraq has had diplomatic relations with the FRG since 1953, these have always been loose. In 1965 Iraq and other Arab states ended their relations because the FRG had recently established relations with Israel. Relations between the FRG and Iraq were later restored.
The FRG maintained limited diplomatic relations with Iraq during the second Gulf War in 1990/91 and during the occupation of Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein .
In 2003, Germany, along with China , Russia , France and Belgium opposed the US proposal to attack Iraq.
In August 2014, the German government announced that it would deliver weapons to the Kurdish Peshmerga , who at the time were fighting the so-called Islamic State . Weapons, armor and communication equipment were delivered. The German Defense Ministry reported that the military aid would be enough to supply 4,000 Kurdish soldiers.
The military aid of around 70 million euros included around 8,000 G36 assault rifles with four million rounds of ammunition, 8,000 G3 assault rifles with two million rounds of ammunition, 8,000 P1 pistols with one million rounds of ammunition, 40 MG3 machine guns and one million Rounds of ammunition, 200 Panzerfaust 3 including 2,500 rocket propelled grenades, 30 MILAN anti-tank missile systems including 500 rockets, 40 light Wolf off-road vehicles , 20 armored light Wolf commercial vehicles, 40 UNIMOG trucks and 5 Dingo-1 .
In December 2014 the German cabinet sent around 100 Bundeswehr soldiers to Iraq to train Peshmerga soldiers there . It did so as part of the US-led military alliance against the Islamic State in Iraq.
Economic relationships
The German-Iraqi trade volume amounted to around 1.76 billion euros in 2018. Over 600 German companies trade in Iraq. While Germany imports most of the oil from Iraq, it exports chemicals, machinery and electronics.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Iraqis living in Germany (2018) .
- ↑ ND archive: May 2nd, 1969 .
- ^ Hermann Wentker: Foreign policy within narrow limits: The GDR in the international system 1949–1989. Publications on SBZ / GDR research in the Institute for Contemporary History . Walter de Gruyter, 2012, ISBN 978-3-486-70738-0 ( google.de [accessed on May 26, 2020]).
- ^ Paul G. Schmidt: International monetary policy in the socialist state: Theoretical foundation and empirical review using the example of the GDR . Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 2019, ISBN 978-3-11-051014-0 ( google.de [accessed on May 26, 2020]).
- ↑ mdr.de: Solidarity going astray | MDR.DE. Retrieved May 26, 2020 .
- ↑ See list of German ambassadors in Iraq .
- ↑ A German View of the Iraq War - 2003-12-12 | Voice of America - English. Retrieved May 26, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Deutsche Welle (dw.com): Germany is armed Kurdish armed forces that are fighting the Islamic State in Iraq | DW | August 31, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2020 (UK English).
- ^ Deutsche Welle (dw.com): German arms deliveries to the Kurdish region of Iraq | DW | September 1, 2014. Retrieved May 26, 2020 (UK English).
- ^ German cabinet approves training mission in Iraq . In: Reuters . December 17, 2014 ( online [accessed May 26, 2020]).
- ↑ Wirtschaftswoche: Trade volume of 1.7 billion euros: German business relies on trade with Iraq. Retrieved May 26, 2020 .