VOA标准英语2008年-United Arab Emirates to Open Embassy in Iraq

By Suzanne Presto¹
Irbil
05 June 2008

The United Arab Emirates has announced it is appointing an ambassador to Iraq and will open an embassy in Baghdad. The foreign minister made the announcement during a visit to the Iraqi capital. VOA's Suzanne Presto reports from the northern city of Irbil.

Foreign Minister Abdallah bin³ Zayid al-Nuhayyan's visit to Iraq is the first by an Emirates' top diplomat⁴ since the end of Saddam Hussein's reign² in 2003.
　

UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayid al-Nuhayyan (r) speaks with Iraq's President Jalal Talabani during their meeting in Baghdad, 05 Jun 2008

Al-Nuhayyan met with Iraq's President Jalal Talabani and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on Thursday in an effort to strengthen diplomatic ties.

Following the meetings, the Emirati diplomat and Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Mahmud Zebari held a joint⁵ press conference in the capital.

Al-Nuhayyan told journalists that the Emirates have asked Baghdad to send an ambassador to the UAE, and the Emirates plan to name an ambassador to Baghdad within the next few days.

He added that the Emirates hope to open an embassy in Baghdad in the coming weeks. This would make the Emirates the only Arab nation to have a full diplomatic mission in Iraq. For the past three years, no Arab country has had a permanent mission in the nation.

In recent months, the United States has increasingly pressed Arab nations to strengthen ties with Iraq's government.

The UAE withdrew all of its diplomats⁶ from Baghdad two years ago, after one of them was kidnapped in May of 2006. He was later released.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Zebari said his government is serious about providing a high level of protection to all diplomatic envoys⁷ and buildings.

Emirates' Foreign Minister al- Nuhayyan emphasized that diplomats face dangers everywhere in the world, and Iraq is no exception. He said that he believes the dangers in Baghdad must be faced.

Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said his nation welcomes the return of Emirati diplomats to Iraq.

He also thanked the Emirati government for inviting⁸ Iraq's president, prime minister and president of parliament to visit Abu Dhabi.

1 presto   

adv.急速地；n.急板乐段；adj.急板的

参考例句：

• With something so important,you can't just wave a wand and presto!在这么重大的问题上，你想挥动一下指挥棒，转眼就变过来,办不到！
• I just turned the piece of wire in the lock and hey presto,the door opened.我把金属丝伸到锁孔里一拧，嘿，那门就开了。

2 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

3 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

4 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

6 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 envoys   

使节( envoy的名词复数 )； 公使； 谈判代表； 使节身份

参考例句：

• the routine tit for tat when countries expel each other's envoys 国家相互驱逐对方使节这种惯常的报复行动
• Marco Polo's travelogue mentions that Kublai Khan sent envoys to Malgache. 马可波罗游记中提到忽必烈曾派使节到马尔加什。

8 inviting   

adj.诱人的，引人注目的

参考例句：

• An inviting smell of coffee wafted into the room.一股诱人的咖啡香味飘进了房间。
• The kitchen smelled warm and inviting and blessedly familiar.这间厨房的味道温暖诱人，使人感到亲切温馨。