NAJAF - Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Saturday inaugurated Najaf International Airport during a ceremony attended by Najaf governor, the minister of interior and several officials.
Speaking to Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI) yesterday, Deputy Governor Abdelhussein Abtan said that the official inauguration of Najaf International Airport will take place on Sunday and will be attended by key figures.
Abtan noted that the airport will mark a turning point in the Iraqi economy and will help boost tourism and trade in the country.
The ceremony was also attended by the head of the Shahid al-Mihrab Foundation, Ammar al-Hakim; the Iraqi minister of oil, Hussein al-Shahrestani; the minister of electricity, Kareem Waheed; and the minister of national security, Shirwan al-Waili.
Najaf, Iraq's holiest Shiite city, lies 160 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Najaf is renowned as the site of the tomb of Ali Ibn Abi Taleb (also known as "Imam Ali"), whom Shiites consider to be the righteous caliph and first imam. The city is now a great center of pilgrimage from throughout the Shiite Islamic world. It is estimated that only Mecca and Medina receive more Muslim pilgrims. The Imam Ali Mosque is housed in a grand structure with a gilded dome and many precious objects in its walls.
© Aswat Aliraq 2008
