In the first visit by an official of the Iraqi interim government, Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari is scheduled to arrive here later this month.Given the Left’s rhetoric on Iraq, New Delhi has been cautious in downplaying the visit: it will be a day-and-half affair instead of three days that Baghdad had initially requested. Also, Zebari will meet External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh and his officials instead of a one-on-one with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as was requested. Zebari is on a regional tour ahead of polls for the transitional assembly that would frame the Constitution before the general elections next November. He will visit China and Pakistan as well. Sources said Zebari is likely to seek India’s help in the voting process through training of election officials, sourcing indelible ink and EVMs—just as the Afghans had done. India has made clear that it will not send its officials to Iraq to help conduct elections. Zebari was to visit India in February but that visit was postponed because of the LS polls. The decision to meet Zebari, sources said, was taken to ensure that New Delhi keeps its doors open to a regime that is a principal player in Baghdad.
