(Hina) - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and European Affairs Minister Vesna Pusić on Monday conducted several meetings in Baghdad with Iraqi officials about bilateral relations, the fight against terrorism and about women's affairs.
Pusic's meeting with Defence Minister Khaled al-Obeidi focused on the situation in Iraq and the fight against terrorism.
Minister Obeidi said that he was glad to see that the European Union (EU) and its member states were interested in the situation in Iraq and that he believes that now it is obvious just how important the fight against terrorism is. It is important to destroy the ideology of terrorism as a threat to the entire world, the Iraqi minister said thanking Croatia for its assistance and contribution to that struggle. Iraq needs assistance to rebuild its cities, destroyed in conflicts, he said.
"Cooperation with Iraq is important to us at several levels: bilateral and then cooperation within EU mechanisms and in the fight against terrorism," Minister Pusić underscored. "We, Croatia and Iraq, share the same neighbourhood, travelling from Zagreb to Baghdad by air lasts three hours," she said, speaking about the importance of cooperation between the two countries.
Minister Pusić met with Minister for Women’s Affairs in Iraq, Bayan Nouri, who informed the visiting Croatian official that Iraq was working on a special strategy and plan for women's affairs including a strategy against violence as well as other issues related to UN Resolution 1325.
The ministry is also working on improving education for women as well as health insurance for women and subsidies for women entrepreneurs. Nouri said that there was a special programme for women in rural areas, for poorer women and in areas where education is not available to women and girls. The key is for women to be in a position where decisions are made, she underscored.
Minister Pusić agreed that it was important to raise awareness about the problem of sexual violence in war and recalled last year's conference in London and the UN General Assembly which confirmed that initiative and how Croatia is actively involved in this process. She advised that Croatia had recently adopted a law on victims of sexual violence in war, which will compensate victims and penalise perpetrators and that they must be punished.