Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Falih al Zaidi has called on Iraqi Christians living overseas to return to their homeland. Source: National Catholic Register.
During a meeting with Chaldean Patriarch Paul III Nona, Mr Al Zaidi said the return of Christians who were forced to leave Iraq has become a national priority for his government.
He said the government was ready to provide the support needed to encourage Christian families to return, including making them eligible for the countryʼs 1 million residential land plot initiative.
Mr Al Zaidi said Iraqʼs strength lies in its ethnic, religious, and cultural diversity and in the unity of its people. He described Christians as “an active and essential component of Iraqi society and a key partner in building the state and shaping Iraqʼs history and future”.
He also encouraged Iraqi Christian business leaders and investors living abroad to return and take part in rebuilding the country by investing in the opportunities available across several sectors, particularly healthcare and education.
He said the government remains committed to strengthening stability and providing the support needed to help their projects succeed, contribute to economic development, and create new jobs.
Patriarch Nona expressed appreciation for Mr Al Zaidiʼs initiatives and his commitment to supporting Iraqʼs Christian community.
He said the governmentʼs position sends an important message encouraging Iraqi Christians in the diaspora to return home, strengthens their confidence in the countryʼs future, and supports the willingness of Christian business leaders and investors to contribute to Iraqʼs reconstruction and development.
Commenting on the initiative, Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Nicodemus Matti Sharaf of the Archdiocese of Mosul, Kirkuk, and Kurdistan welcomed the call for Christians to return.
He described it as “an official recognition of the Christian communityʼs rightful place in the land of its fathers and ancestors”.
At the same time, he stressed that addressing the reasons Christians left Iraq in the first place was even more important. Without doing so, he said, the invitation is unlikely to achieve its intended results.
Among the reasons, he said, are ongoing marginalisation and the lack of genuine political representation. He also cited widespread corruption, inadequate infrastructure, limited access to quality healthcare and education, and a shortage of employment opportunities.
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Iraq’s Prime Minister Calls On Iraqi Christians Abroad to Return Home (National Catholic Register)
