Salahadin, Erbil, (Krp.org)- President Masoud Barzani welcomed Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany. Mr. Steinmeier was accompanied by a delegation of the Ministry as well as German diplomats from Baghdad and Erbil. President Barzani welcomed the minister by a high Kurdistan Region delegation which included Mr. Masrour Barzani, the Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council.

The meeting was initiated by Mr. Steinmeier offering his congratulations to President Barzani and the Peshmerga forces for the Sinjar operation last month which resulted in the liberation of the town of Sinajr from the control of the terrorists of the Islamic State. Mr. Steinmeier also spoke of Germany's military support to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and stated that that support will continue.

President Barzani and Mr. Steinmeier spoke of other military operations in Iraq and in Kurdistan against the terrorists of the Islamic State. The President stated that the operations will continue and took advantage of the opportunity to express his gratitude to the allies for their support to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

President Barzani and Mr. Steinmeier discussed the political and economic situation in the Kurdistan Region and the relations between Baghdad and Erbil. 

The two held a press conference after their meeting with the presence of local, national and international media outlets.

Salahadin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, (Krp.org)- President Masoud Barzani met with Mr. Ekkehard Brose, Germany's ambassador to Iraq. During the meeting President Barzani and ambassador Ekkehard spoke of the current military efforts against the terrorists of the Islamic State on the border with the Kurdistan Region and the operations in central Iraq. Ambassador Ekkehard stated that Germany will continue to support the efforts against the terrorists. President Barzani reiterated the Kurdistan Region's appreciation for the support from Germany.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani today met with a visiting German government delegation in Salahaddin to discuss German military assistance to the Kurdistan Region peshmerga forces.

Heading the German delegation, German Deputy Minister of Defense Markus Grübel praised the leadership of President Barzani and the role of the Kurdistan peshmerga forces in taking the fight to the ISIS terrorist. He said the peshmerga are making sacrifices and fighting the ISIS terrorists on behalf of the whole world; he pledged continued German support for the KRG and the peshmerga forces.

President Barzani thanked the people and government of Germany for their military assistance, including training of peshmerga forces. He said German military assistance has been key to many peshmerga gains against the ISIS terrorists.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani visited Munich, Germany, on Friday, to participate in the annual Munich Security Conference.

The President and an accompanying KRG delegation attended the opening ceremony of the Conference and held a number of bilateral meetings, including meeting Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, and Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, and former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In these meetings, the President shed light on the ongoing efforts by the peshmerga forces to defeat ISIS terrorists and the humanitarian situation of refugees and IDPS who fled to Kurdistan.

On the sidelines of the Conference, the President also took part in a roundtable meeting attended by a number of US and European politicians and officials. In this meeting, President Barzani talked about the fighting against ISIS and the need for more support for the peshmerga forces. He also discussed the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees and IDPs who have fled to Kurdistan in recent months and years.

On the second day of his participation at the Munich Security Conference, President Barzani held meetings with a number of world leaders and officials, including with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Norway’s Foreign Minister Børge Brende, Germany’s Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

Both German Chancellor Merkel and Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen commended the advances made by the peshmerga forces and reiterated that Germany would send further supplies to Kurdistan for the peshmerga.

The President also participated in a panel on the fight against ISIS terrorism and the situation of IDPS in Kurdistan. He thanked the international community for its support for the peshmerga forces but added that more military aid is needed.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani today welcomed German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen in Salahaddin today to discuss German military aid to peshmerga forces.

In a meeting with President Barzani and the military leadership of the KRG, the German defense minister, who was accompanied by a number of security advisors and German members of parliament, reiterated her country’s commitment to stand by the people of Kurdistan in the fight against ISIS terrorists and commended the role of the peshmerga forces in taking the fight to them. She added that Germany would continue to help the KRG by providing weapons and military training to the peshmerga forces.

President Barzani thanked the people and government of German for their decision to assist the KRG and said that the people of Kurdistan are deeply grateful for Germany for coming to their aid. He said that the military aid from Germany has been very effective in battles. He added that with the assistance provided by Germany and other countries, the peshmerga forces now have the upper hand and will continue to push back the ISIS terrorists. But he warned that this will be a drawn-out fight, and the peshmerga require more military assistance and more advanced weapons.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq, (KRG.org) – Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, on Monday received Mr. Georg Enzweiler, on the occasion of his appointment as Germany’s new Consul General to the Kurdistan Region. 

Mr. Enzweiler expressed his pleasure to be appointed as his country’s Consul General to Kurdistan Region and hoped to further develop bilateral relations between Germany and the Kurdistan Region. He lauded the Kurdistan government, people and Peshmerga forces for their fight against terrorism and accommodating a large number of internally displaced people and refugees, who fled terrorist violence in other parts of Iraq and took refuge in Kurdistan Region.

Mr. Enzweiler reiterated his country’s humanitarian and military support to the Kurdistan Regional Government. The Consul General also reaffirmed his country’s determination to further strengthen the political and economic ties with the Kurdistan Region. He added that, many German companies have actively participated in the Erbil international trade fair, which was held last week in Erbil, saying that Germany will continue to encourage its companies to work in the Kurdistan Region.

Prime Minister Barzani congratulated Mr. Enzweiler for his appointment and reiterated the KRG’s support for the success of the German mission in Kurdistan Region. The Prime Minister valued the humanitarian and military support provided by the German government and hoped that this support will continue in future.

The relation between Erbil and Baghdad, the current political and military situation and the threat of the Islamic State terrorist organization, known as ISIS, on regional security and stability were also among the topics discussed in the meeting.
The Consul General welcomed the breakthrough agreement reached earlier this month between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq and hoped for a successful outcome.  

Both sides agreed on further developing the collaboration and coordination between the Kurdistan Region and Germany, stressing the historical relations between the two peoples.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani welcomed Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Erbil on Saturday. In a press conference following their meeting, Mr. Steinmeier expressed Germany’s support for the KRG in its fight against terrorism and commended the KRG for hosting large numbers of IDPs from Mosul who have sought refuge in Kurdistan. He added that Germany would continue to provide humanitarian aid to the IDPs, reiterating that his country would do whatever it can to help the KRG cope with the refugees.

President Barzani hailed Mr. Steinmeier visit to Kurdistan and described it as tremendous support for the people of Kurdistan. He added that the atrocities committed against the Yezidis and Christian minorities in the Ninawa province, were crimes committed against all the people of Kurdistan and that the KRG would come out of this victorious.