France opens visa application center in Mosul

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – France opened on Wednesday a visa application center in Mosul in northern Iraq, in an initiative that is the first of its kind for a European country in the city, which suffered from the domination of ISIS and is witnessing gradual reconstruction.

The office of the only private company authorized to receive visa applications for entry to France is set up in a co-working center in Mosul dedicated to supporting youth entrepreneurship.

The French Consul General in Mosul, Jean-Christophe Auger, said in a speech that the opening of this center reflects the French commitment to the city of Mosul and Nineveh governorate.

Auger added that the new center will facilitate the application process of visas in the governorate, especially for students, academics, businessmen and tourists, and will strengthen the relations between France and Nineveh governorate.

Before opening the new center, residents of Mosul and Nineveh had to travel about 500 kilometers to Baghdad to apply for a visa to France.

There is another center in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, but it only accepts applications from residents of the region.

Nineveh governor, Najm Al-Jubouri, mentioned that France is the first European country to appoint a consul general in Mosul, indicating that the relationship between the city of Mosul and France is distinguished.

Mosul, which has a population of 1.5 million, also includes a Turkish consulate, offices of the United Nations and several international non-governmental organizations.