Diplomatic relations currently conducted out of Jordan
Abdulrahman Hamid Al-Hussaini, Iraq’s newly minted ambassador in Ottawa, hopes Canada will re-establish its embassy in Iraq before the end of his tenure. He pointed out that diplomatic relations between Canada and Iraq began in 1962—about a decade before Iraq established an embassy in Canada and Canada opened one in Iraq. But that embassy later closed under then-president Saddam Hussein, and Canada has not attempted to establish a new diplomatic presence in the country. In fact, diplomatic issues in Iraq are now handled by this nation’s ambassador in Jordan. Canada has not explained its lack of presence in Iraq.