Baghdad, Iraq, April 12, 2021

On the third and last day of his visit to Baghdad, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani held separate meetings with the leaders of the Iraqi political parties and groups, including Mr. Salim al-Jubouri, Head of the Civil Assembly for Reform, Mr. Adel Abdul-Mahdi, former Prime Minister, Mr. Hammam Hammoudi, Head of the Islamic Supreme Council, Mr. Iyad Allawi, Secretary General of the National Accord Party, and Khamis al-Khanjar, Head of the al-Azm Alliance.

During these meetings, discussions focused on the latest political and security developments in the country, the upcoming Iraqi elections, the Kurdistan Region’s relations with the Iraqi Federal Government, dialogue to solve the problems of Erbil-Baghdad, the dangers of ISIS and Iraq’s relations with the countries of the region and the world.

President Nechirvan Barzani stressed in the meetings that his vision for the resolution of the issues in Iraq, requires the need for political parties and communities in the country to reach a common vision and understanding for the future of Iraq that includes stability, coexistence, and mutual respect. In order to achieve this objective, everyone must learn from the mistakes and experiences of the past. The President referred to Baghdad as the strategic partner of the Kurdistan Region to solve the outstanding problems.

The President reaffirmed that eighteen years have passed since the fall of the former Iraqi regime and the building of the new Iraq, the transitional phase, must come to an end and a new phase be launched in the country in which the human and natural wealth of Iraq be utilized for further reconstruction of the country, to provide enhanced services to all Iraqi’s throughout the country and to restore Iraq and its position at the regional and global levels.

In this context, Iraq’s leaders shared President Nechirvan Barzani’s opinion to work with a common vision for a better future for Iraq, and agreed that with the existing political will and a common understanding, obstacles can be removed before the political process, as shown in the case of the passage of the Iraqi Budget Bill, the amendment of the Federal Supreme Court Law and the laws concerning dissolution of the parliament.

The Iraqi groups and parties viewed President Nechirvan Barzani’s visit to Baghdad as an opportunity to resume the contact among political groups and their joint work to move the country towards a better position that would ensure stability, reconstruction, progress and partnership with all sides in the political process and management of the country on the basis of citizenship and common interests. Iraq’s leaders expressed hope that the visit yields genuine results and that such visits and meetings continue to unify common positions and build a basis for mutual understanding.