Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq – (DFR.krg.org) - Following the opening of Canada’s Trade Representation Office in Erbil last month, a Canadian delegation headed by Canada’s Ambassador to Iraq Bruno Saccomani visited Kurdistan to work on boosting educational and agricultural ties.

As part of their visit to the region, the delegation visited the Department of Foreign Relations where they were received by the Head of the Department, Minister Falah Mustafa and the Assistant Head of the DFR, Siham Jabali.

Ambassador Saccomani spoke about his pleasure with the speed with which relations are growing between Kurdistan and Canada. He attributed this in part due to the opening of the Trade Representation Office in Erbil and the visit by Canada’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Consular Services, Lynne Yelich last month. A Kurdish – Canadian economic forum also took place during Minister Yelich’s visit.

Minister Mustafa welcomed the delegation and Ambassador Saccomani to the DFR and said that he was pleased with the level of commitment being shown by the Canadian government in finding ways of mutual cooperation. He said, ‘We welcome these exchanges of visits and we would benefit greatly through educational cooperation and exchange programs with Canada.’

The Canadian delegation briefed the Minister about the purposes of this visit, highlighting that they want to focus for now on educational and agricultural cooperation. They added that they hoped that they could build educational linkages, and are working on promoting Canada as a destination for students from the region, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The delegation also held meetings at the Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources.