Dubai: Indian diplomats in Baghdad are staying put in the Iraqi capital amid reports
that some other missions here are leaving the country as fear of US-led war on Iraq
mounts.
"We have no schedule to leave Baghdad," B B Tyagi, India's Ambassador in Iraq
said.
Indian diplomats will stay put in Baghdad to coordinate assistance to the Indian
nationals in the country, he said.
"There are about 50 Indian nationals here from both private and public sector
companies in India," Tyagi said.
Reports said the American interests section in Baghdad will close tomorrow (February
5) and the three Polish diplomats who work there will leave by road for Amman and
then to Warsaw.
The directives to close the section came from the US state department via the Polish
embassy in Washington, the foreign ministry in Warsaw and finally the Polish embassy
in Baghdad.
Representatives of Yugoslavia and Spain have already left Baghdad.
India has ongoing trade with Iraq under the Oil-for-Food programme allowed under UN
sanctions to procure essential items like medicine and food. Iraq recently approved a
deal to buy Indian wheat, which was once earlier rejected on the ground it was
infected.
In Saudi Arabia, an ally of the US, Spanish citizens were advised to apply for
exit/re-entry visas as a precautionary measure least they should be evacuated.
Last week, Germany and Belgium advised their citizens to obtain exit/re-entry visas
so that they could leave the kingdom if necessary and Canada was following suit.
PTI
