Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – A candid exchange between Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi and an Iraqi Kurdish journalist captured widespread attention during the Iraqi-German Business Dialogue Forum in Berlin on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.
When the journalist stood up to address the forum and apologized for not speaking Arabic professionally, Al-Zaidi interjected with a smile: “In whatever language you speak, you are Iraqi.”The gesture drew spontaneous applause across the hall, reframing a routine press exchange into a high-profile affirmation of civic identity.
The encounter resonated deeply against Iraq’s complex social tapestry, highlighting that national identity transcends linguistic or sectarian boundaries.
Iraq remains an ancient crossroads of diverse ethnicities, religions, and native languages, where Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen, Syriac-Assyrians, Yazidis, Armenians, and Shabaks form the core fabric of the nation.
The Prime Minister’s spontaneous remark served as a reminder that every citizen—whether communicating in Arabic, Kurdish, Syriac, Turkmen, or an international tongue—holds an equal, indivisible place within the Iraqi state.