The British ambassador bid farewell to Iraq with moving words

The British Ambassador, Stephen Hickey, bid farewell to Iraq today, Saturday, with moving words, after the end of his mission, which extended from 2019.

Hickey said in a tweet on his account on “Twitter” in Arabic: “Farewell, Iraq… It was a wonderful and privileged experience.”

Addressing the Iraqis, he added: “Thank you for your hospitality, communication, advice and many friendships. I will miss Iraq very much, but I hope to return again someday.”

Hickey attached his tweet with a video clip in which he confirmed that Saturday is the last day of his post as Britain’s ambassador to Iraq, adding, “Iraq is a special and wonderful country with very generous people and an ancient civilization, a multi-religious and multicultural country.”

In the video, previous clips of Hickey appeared while preparing a number of popular Iraqi dishes, including Maqluba and dolma.

He concluded by saying: “Thank you for the communication, exchange of ideas and tips, and the hospitality. I will always miss you.”

وداعاً، يا عراق… كانت تجربة رائعة ذات امتياز. شكراً لكم على حسن الضيافة والتواصل والمشورة والصداقات العديدة. ساشتاق للعراق كثيرا، لكني امل ان اعود مرة اخرى يوما ما. pic.twitter.com/i3k8aZgrCy

— Stephen Hickey (@sblhickey) July 3, 2021

Stephen Hickey has been the British ambassador to Iraq since November 2019, succeeding John Wilkes.

It is noteworthy that the new British ambassador, Mark Bryson Richardson, arrived in Iraq a few days ago to take over his duties as a successor to Hickey.