Washington, DC, USA (dfr.gov.krd) - Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir , Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, and the newly appointed Representative to the United States, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, concluded their week-long round of meetings in Washington DC by seeing officials at the White House and State Department.
The Kurdistan Regional Government delegation has been in the US capital to introduce the new Representative and to update the Administration, Congress, media and business community on developments in Kurdistan and Iraq.
Four key White House advisors met with Minister Bakir and Ms Abdul Rahman on Thursday to discuss the growing collaboration between the KRG and the US in the fight against terrorism. 'The US has long been an important, strategic ally of the people of the Kurdistan Region,' Mr Bakir told the team from both the President and Vice-President's offices. Ms Abdul Rahman said, ‘As the KRG Representative here in Washington, I will continue to build the strategic partnership between our people, on all fronts.’
Philip Gordon, a special assistant to President Barack Obama and the White House coordinator for the Middle East, welcomed Ms Abdul Rahman and said he was encouraged by the presence of the KRG office in Washington and frequent visits by Minister Bakir. He recognised and thanked the peshmerga for their dedication and sacrifices in combating the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Also at the meeting were Colin Kahl,Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to Vice President Joe Biden; Robert Malley, Senior Director of the National Security Council; and Andy Kim, Iraq Director at the National Security Council.
The two sides discussed the political progress in Baghdad under Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi and the current debate in the Iraqi parliament on the budget law which for the first time allocates funds for the peshmerga as part of Iraq's defence system. They also talked about security developments as the peshmerga regain all Kurdistani territories and the continuing humanitarian crisis.
The delegation also met with senior officials on Friday at the State Department to discuss the issues of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, US support for the peshmerga, and the recent negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad.
The Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Ambassador Anne Patterson, updated the delegates on US efforts to combat ISIL and praised the peshmerga for their successes in Sinjar.
In a separate meeting at the State Department, Kelly Tallman Clements, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, expressed her concern for the 1million people displaced into the Kurdistan Region since last year who joined the 1million or so fellow Iraqis and Syrians who had been sheltering in Kurdistan before that. Minister Bakir thanked the US for its support, but said that aid from the international community needs to continue, especially through the cold winter months.
Minister Bakir and Representative Abdul Rahman also met General Jim Jones, a friend of Kurdistan since 1991 who is now chief executive of the US-Kurdistan Business Council. They discussed Kurdistan's economic recovery in 2015 and ways to expand commercial ties between the two countries.
The KRG delegation continued its introductory meetings on Capitol Hill, including with members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and House Committee on Appropriations. Speaking on the growing cooperation between KRG, US, and Iraqi forces, Senator Pat Roberts said, ‘If we are to be successful in Iraq, the Kurds will lead the way.’
These meetings came at the end of a week-long round of talks by the KRG delegation with congressmen and senators who sit on key committees or are interested in Kurdistan, Iraq and the Middle East. The Minister and Representative also called on the Iraqi Ambassador, Lukman Faily, met with the KRG Representation team in Washington and spoke to the media.