French president’s ex-envoy to MENA appointed ambassador to Iraq

The newly appointed diplomat previously served as the French president’s envoy to the MENA region.

Kurdistan 24 2024/02/05 13:52

Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Fuad Hussein (right) during his meeting with newly appointed French Ambassador to Iraq Patrick Durel, Feb. 5, 2024. (Photo: Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The former envoy of French President Emmanuel Macron to the Middle East and North Africa officially presented his credentials to the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday, becoming the European’s envoy to Iraq.

Ambassador Patrick Durel on Monday met with Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein in Baghdad, where he presented his credentials to the ministry.

The newly appointed diplomat previously served as the French president’s envoy to the MENA region. He has replaced his predecessor Éric Chevalier, who was inaugurated in the position in 2021.

Paris enjoys close ties with Iraq, particularly the Kurdistan Region.

France has backed the country’s three versions of the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership in a bid to foster regional integration and forge closer ties between Iraq and the regional players.

As an integral part of the US-led coalition against ISIS, France has provided the Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces with training as well as air support against the terror group between 2014 and 2017.

President Macron has visited the country twice since 2020.

Iraq has signed an agreement with French Total, including four projects to develop an oil field, produce gas, build a large energy infrastructure, and generate solar energy.