Indian embassy to Iraq suspends visa services
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Indian embassy in Baghdad decided to suspend the granting of visas to Iraqis in protest of a decision by the Iraqi government to remove cement barriers from the perimeter of the embassy in the capital.
The Baghdad Operations Command decided to remove dozens of cement barriers erected several years ago on the secondary roads and near some departments and institutions, including where the Indian embassy is located.
“All consular services, including [the granting of] visa will remain suspended with effect from 31/07/2018 until the security infrastructure of the Embassy are reinstated by the Government of Iraq (Baghdad Operations Command),” read a notice posted by the Indian embassy outside their building.
There was no immediate comment from the Baghdad Operations Command.
The Iraqi government has been reopening closed down streets, removing concrete blocks and checkpoints for the past year, raising security concerns with offices of diplomatic missions in Baghdad.
According to the Indian embassy, the country is one of the most preferred destinations for Iraqis seeking quality medical treatment, following higher education studies in India on a self-financing basis, with hundreds sending their children every year.
“There is hardly a University in Iraq of which some faculty has not studied in India. More than 10,000 Iraqi students have been doing their PhD, Masters and undergraduate studies in India,” according to India’s statistics.
India also claims that the embassy issues around 250 visas per day going up to 350-400 during the summer months.
They also estimate that about 30,000-40,000 Indians visit Baghdad, Karbala, Najaf and Samarrah for pilgrimage annually, and that, at present, the total number of Indians in Iraq to be around 10,000-12,000, mostly in, Basra, Najaf, Karbala, and the Kurdistan region.
India opened its first consulate in Erbil in 2016 with goals to establish a long-term partnership between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Indian government.
Editing by Nadia Riva