Wellington, May 28 (IANS): New Zealand will open an embassy in Iraq next week, with the new ambassador to provide diplomatic support to troops training the Iraqi army.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully on Thursday said the embassy was signalled when the decision to deploy troops to Iraq was announced, Stuff online reported.

The government had now finalised arrangements to open a permanent mission in Baghdad, McCully said.

New Zealand's resident ambassador James Munro would be charged with supporting the non-combat training mission to Iraq, and assessing how better relations could be built with the Iraqi government.

The New Zealand embassy would be co-located with the Australian embassy in Baghdad.

The embassy would also be responsible for maintaining relations with the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq.

Up to 143 New Zealand troops are in Iraq, where they operate a joint training mission with Australian forces at Camp Taji, around 33 km north of Baghdad.