The KRG Department of Foreign Relations strongly condemns the horrific shootings on the Charlie Hebdo Magazine office in Paris that claimed 12 lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this terrorist attack. We stand with the people of France and offer them the sympathy of the people of Kurdistan at this difficult time.

Such attacks can only strengthen our commitment to vigorously uphold and defend the values of freedom of speech and to continue the fight against terrorism. These kinds of attacks remind us of that members of the international community should stand shoulder to shoulder in the fight against terrorists who threaten the values of democracy, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence. The Kurdistan Peshmerga Forces are at the forefront of the fight against terrorism. The fight against extremism must continue relentlessly.

Once again, we express our condolences to the families of those killed in Paris.

Brussels, Belgium, Iraq – (krg.org) – The Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, visited Brussels as part of a larger visit to Europe aimed at strengthening relations with European allies and conveying the KRG position on a number of key issues to the international community.

During the visit to Brussels, Minister Mustafa attended a conference hosted by the European Parliament on the Human Rights in Iraq and Kurdistan, met with MEP´s from the European Parliament, met with government officials from the European Union and Belgium, visited both the Iraqi Embassy and KRG Representation to the EU. He was accompanied throughout the visit by the KRG Representative to the EU, Delavar Ajgeiy.

At the European Parliament, Minister Mustafa met separately with the Leader of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, MEP Hannes Swoboda and MEP Charles Tannock who is the Conservative Foreign Affairs Spokesman in the European Parliament. In both meetings Minister Mustafa discussed a number of important issues pertaining to developments in Kurdistan, Iraq and the wider region. He also asked for their assistance in working towards getting the European Parliament to recognize the crimes committed by the former regime against the Kurds as genocide.

Minister Mustafa also sought ways in which relations between the European Parliament and the Kurdistan Region can be strengthened. In his meeting with MEP Tannock, Minister Mustafa said, ‘We really would like to see increased engagement from the European Parliament to help Iraq move in the right direction. We also hope that a friendship group focused on Kurdistan can be established inside the Kurdistan Parliament.’ He reiterated the same message during his meeting with MEP Swoboda.

In his visit to the European Union offices, Minister Mustafa met with a group of officials from the European External Action Service headed by the Director for North Africa, Middle East, Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq, Cristian Berger. During the meeting Minister Mustafa briefed the delegation on importance of Iraq´s parliamentary elections, the current issues between Erbil and Baghdad, the Kurdistan Region´s relationship with Turkey and the importance of the European Union to be engaged with Iraq.

Minister Mustafa also highlighted the importance of the EU having a representative office in Kurdistan, as well assistance from the EU to ensure that the Kurdistan Region is included and benefits from the cooperation agreements signed between Iraq and the EU. Mr Berger asked about the latest developments regarding Syria stressing that on a humanitarian level, this is the largest assistance operation the EU has ever been involved in with Minister Mustafa highlighting the plight of the Syrian refugees in Kurdistan and asked for more humanitarian support for those refugees.

During the second day of the visit, Minister Mustafa attended a conference organised by the Chairman of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, Struan Stevenson MEP, and had two separate panels with discussions in both revolving around the human rights situation in Iraq as well as in Kurdistan.

During the conference which was attended by various representatives from Iraq, the Head of the DFR presented a speech on the latest developments in Kurdistan as well as the future vision of the KRG. During his speech, the Minister said, ‘we in Kurdistan are proud of our culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. Respect for human rights is the guarantee for peaceful coexistence, progress and prosperity for people living together. This is what we have done in the Kurdistan Region.’

The KRG delegation also visited the Belgian Foreign Ministry where they met with the Head of the Iraq desk, Luc Truyens, and other officials, where they discussed a number of issues including the fact that similar models of governance exist in both Iraq and Belgium in terms of federalism and the devolution of powers from the centre to the provinces and regions. Minister Mustafa said, ‘We want to learn from other countries experiences of federalism and especially Belgium, a country which like Iraq, is comprised of different ethnicities.’

Also during the visit Minister Mustafa paid a courtesy visit to the Iraqi Embassy where he was received by Ambassador Mohammed Humaimidi where they discussed a number of issues pertaining to the latest political and security developments in Iraq in addition to updates regarding the talks between Baghdad and Erbil, and the upcoming Iraqi elections.

Finally Minister Mustafa visited the KRG Representation in Belgium and was received by the KRG Representative, Delavar Ajgeiy, and met with all the employees at the Representation. Minister Mustafa thanked the KRG Representation for their hard work and efforts in conveying the KRG policies to the European Union and expressed his hope that they would continue this work and hopefully aim to work towards strengthening relations with the European Union, the European Parliament and the Belgian government.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (KRG.org) – Today, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations (DFR) and Invest in Group (IIG) to produce the ‘Kurdistan Review’ for 2014.

The MoU was signed by Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa and the Managing Director of IIG’s ‘Kurdistan Review’, Can Yirik. This is the second MOU to be signed by both sides and follows from the success of last year’s MOU which has led to the successful publication of Kurdistan Review 2013.

The MoU signing ceremony was attended by senior officials from the KRG Department of Foreign Relations including Deputy Head of the DFR, Karwan Jamal, Deputy Head for International Organizations, Dindar Zebari and the Assistant Head of the DFR, Siham Jabali.

This year, a designated DFR team under the supervision of Minister Mustafa will be working closely with Invest in Group to ensure a second year of success for the publication.

The ‘Kurdistan Review’ is a comprehensive and leading review in Kurdistan that is published three times quarterly and one time annually and includes various content focusing on different aspects of the region. The reports highlight the many developments and opportunities in the public and private sectors.

In his opening remarks, Minister Mustafa said “we at the DFR are happyat the level of cooperation with Invest in Group and look forward to continue this partnership in 2014.” Minister Mustafa talked about the challenges of topping last year’s successful achievement and ensuring that ‘Kurdistan Review 2014’ will have fresh content and a new message for the international community.

On behalf of IIG, Can Yirik said: “We are honored to renew our partnership agreement with the DFR. Today’s emerging Kurdistan offers large opportunities to the global business community. Our aim is to introduce the people, ideas, trends, and most importantly the opportunities that are transforming Kurdistan into a key business and investment hub for its region and beyond.”