The celebrations of the “First Newroz Baghdad Festival 2023” started in the capital, Baghdad, under the auspices of the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’a Al-Sudani, and under the supervision of the Baghdad Municipality, in the presence of governmental, parliamentary and community figures.

Ihsan Al-Awadi, Representative of the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, said in a speech at the opening of the festival: “We are pleased to share with our Kurdish people the celebrations on this occasion, and I convey to you the greetings of the Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia’ al-Sudani, who honored me with his deputation in this honorable ceremony that expresses the beauty of the component and Iraqi cultural spectrum.

He added, “Iraq has for hundreds of years been the center of civilizational and cultural diversity in the world, and this diversity has always been a privilege that has made our country one of the countries that are an example of culture, brotherhood and love, despite the failed attempts to break the bonds of the people of the same country.”

He went on to say, “Our standing today to celebrate Newroz, one of the holidays of the sons of our indigenous Kurdish people, is another proof that the people of this country are like branches of a single tree that blossoms and is proud of its belonging and rises above the unity of its components. Also, Newroz holidays are an occasion to restore interest in the environmental aspect, especially one of the names of our popular culture is the tree festival, so it is an occasion every year to take care of the environment that expresses the interests of our government.

He stated: “We launched a few days ago the initiative of the Iraq Climate Conference in Basra, which is an initiative to plant five million trees and palm trees in all governorates of Iraq,” noting that “our current government, since its formation, has taken an approach that does not deviate from it, and it is a government for all Iraqis that takes care of them and cares about their affairs in their various sects, their social and political affiliations.

He added, “We believe that the Iraqi components are the source of Iraq’s strength, so the government’s directions were to solve all the problems that disturb the political and social life of the people of our dear country,” stressing that “the Kurdish brothers were and still represent an essential partner for Iraq and have contributed to building the new Iraq, which was liberated from dictatorship, just as they were formerly our partners against the dictatorial regime by embracing all Iraqis when their ways were narrowed.

He concluded by saying: “The Prime Minister’s visit to the Kurdistan region a few days ago is to consolidate the relationship and partnership with them, and to remove everything that would raise anxiety and root differences, and all of this comes from the government’s feeling that it does not belong to a team, party, spectrum, or color, but is a government of all Iraqis

Source: National Iraqi News Agency