Gulf | Bahrain
Appointment of Bahrain's Nonoo as envoy awaiting US nod
The appointment of Bahraini Huda Nonoo as the first Arab Jewish woman ambassador in Washington is still waiting for the approval of the US government, the foreign minister has said.
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 16:17 June 8, 2008
- Image Credit: Gulf News
- Huda Nonoo (right) with Dr Nada Haffadh, Bahrain's first woman minister in the upper house.
Manama: The appointment of Bahraini Huda Nonoo as the first Arab Jewish woman ambassador in Washington is still waiting for the approval of the US government, the foreign minister has said.
"The Bahraini government has submitted the credential papers of Huda Nonoo as our ambassador in Washington to the US government as per the diplomatic conventions, and we are still waiting for the reply," Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad Al Khalifa on Sunday told the media at a press conference.
"We expect to receive a reply soon so that we can make the necessary steps to finalise the appointment, particularly that a royal decree has recently appointed Nonoo as an ambassador at the foreign ministry," he said.
Gulf News on April 25 broke the news that Huda, the first Jewish woman to sit on the upper house of the bicameral parliament and the head of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, would be named as Bahrain's ambassador to the US.
The first official step towards the nomination was taken last month when she was transferred to the foreign ministry, a prelude to her designation.
The move was hailed by the international community as renewed recognition of Bahraini women's merits and of tolerance towards minorities in Bahrain.
However, it was criticised by some activists as a "doubtful honouring" of a woman whose human rights society was allegedly set up to replace the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, a watchdog dissolved by the local authorities.
The activists charged that Huda's nomination was a public relations stunt by the government seeking to have better ties with Washington.
However, the government has rejected the claims, insisting that Huda was "a Bahraini citizen who had rights and duties, like all Bahrainis, regardless of religious affiliations."
"The selection of Huda Nonoo is based on the fact that she is Bahraini, the daughter of a Bahraini," Shaikh Khalid told journalists on Sunday .
Huda, 43, will be the third woman ambassador from Bahrain after Shaikha Haya Bint Rashed Al Khalifa who served in France and Bibi Al Alawi, the current ambassador to China.
Selection: Envoy to Iraq
Bahrain is currently selecting an ambassador to Iraq who will take up the position in Baghdad, Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmad said.
"We have finished the other procedures of selecting an embassy building and coordinating with the Iraqi government," he said.
Shaikh Khalid, however, stressed that the security situation in Iraq was not stable yet.
Bahrain's top envoy to Iraq, Hassan Malallah Al Ansari, left Baghdad in 2005 after he was shot and wounded by gunmen who attacked his car.
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