Doha, Qatar, October 17, 2021

Continuing his official visit to Qatar, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani met with His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al-Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Qatar, in Doha on Sunday.

Discussions covered a wide range of issues including Iraq’s parliamentary elections, the future of the political process in Iraq, boosting Kurdistan Region and Iraq’s relations with Qatar, particularly in areas of commerce, agriculture, tourism and economic relations. The COVID-19 pandemic, its implications and the ongoing vaccination efforts in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and the direct flights of Qatar Airways to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq were discussed.

Both sides reaffirmed support for boosting Kurdistan Region and Iraq’s relations with Qatar, highlighting the investment opportunities for Qatari businesses in the wide emerging markets of the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq, especially in areas and sectors where Iraq and the Kurdistan Region need support. The President and the Prime Minister also discussed the steps taken so far to open the Qatari Consul General in Erbil.

Discussions also focused on the threats posed by ISIS, ways to confront terrorism and countering extremism, the status of the refugees in Al-Hawl Camp in Syria, the latest developments in the wider region and other topics of mutual interest.