His Eminence Accompanies an Iraqi Delegation Visiting Washington D.C. From July 11-14

At the request of His Holiness Moran Mor Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, His Eminence Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim participated in a high level Christian Delegation visit to Washington D.C. The delegation included representatives of the major Christian Churches in Iraq. Meetings were held at the Department of State as well as at the Capitol Hill.

The visit was sponsored by the Barnabasaid the Westminster Institute in Washington. The purpose of the visit was to shed light on the suffering of Christians in Iraq. Prominent on the agenda of these meetings were: Issues of security, strong non-sectarian Iraqi government, job opportunities, the plight of displaced persons inside Iraq and refugees in the neighboring countries were.

High ranking officials of the State Department and several US Senators and members of the House of Representatives listened carefully to the message of the Church Leaders and showed a great deal of concern for the future of Christians in Iraq, and in the Middle East in General.
At the State Department the group was met by Mr. Michael Corbin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, who showed a great knowledge of conditions of Christian in the Middle East. He likewise, showed a great concern for Iraqi refugees. The meeting was attended also by Mr. Peter Kovach.

The Final meeting of the group was held on Wednesday the 14th with members of the International Religious Freedom Caucus and the Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus. It was attended by the following five members of the House of Representatives: Anna Eshoo, CA; Gus Bilirakis, FL; Jeff Fortenberry, NE, Trent Franks, AR; and Frank Wolf, VA.