Iraqi PM backs Christian community demands in meeting with US Chaldean delegation

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi Prime Minister Abdulmehdi al-Sharif received a delegation representing the Chaldean community in the United States at his office, where the group presented a detailed dossier of legal, development and social demands on behalf of Chaldeans and other Christian communities in Iraq, according to delegation representative Gazwan Elias. Elias said the prime minister responded sympathetically to the demands and emphasized that Christians, with roots in the country predating the Common Era, are one of Iraq's core components. The dossier also covers the protection of monasteries, churches and other places of worship, he said. During the meeting, participants noted that Iraq's Christian population fell from roughly 1.5 million after 2003 to about 300,000 today, underscoring the need to halt migration, ensure community security and provide conditions for a dignified life. Elias said more than half a million Iraqi Christians currently live in the United States, many of them businesspeople with significant investment capacity. Elias added that Michigan alone hosts more than 200,000 Chaldeans and that efforts will be made to channel the community's economic resources into Iraq's reconstruction process. No further details on specific follow-up measures were immediately available.