The battle by US-backed Iraqi forces to take Mosul back from Islamic State reached a critical point this week. With government forces making significant advances amid the destruction, attention is already beginning to turn to ‘The Day After’—the rehabilitation of the Iraq’s second city.

In the lead up to the Mosul offensive, His Excellency, Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to Australia and New Zealand, Dr Hussain Al-Ameri spoke with Will McEniry of the AIIA’s National Office. They began by discussing the Australia-Iraq relationship and difficulties faced by Iraqis migrating to Australia, before moving on to the impact of Donald Trump’s election on US support for Baghdad and the reclamation and rehabilitation of Iraq’s second city, Mosul.

Dr Hussain Al-Ameri is the Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq to Australia and New Zealand. He is also the former director of the press and human rights departments at the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Interviewed by Will McEniry

Filmed by Lisa Green