The US ambassador to Iraq on Monday inaugurated the new American embassy in Baghdad.

Ambassador Ryan Crocker said the inauguration is a sign of the United States’ long-term relationship and commitment to Iraq.

US Marines raised the flag over the largest US embassy in the world during a ceremony in the courtyard of the large complex that will have working space for 1,000 people.

The embassy sits on a 104-acre site in the heavily fortified Green Zone and cost more than $700 million to build.

The ceremony was attended by Iraqi president Jalal Talabani and US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who also served as ambassador to Iraq in 2005.