Salahaddin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRP.org) - Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani today welcomed Turkish Kurdish members of parliament Layla Zana and Siri Suraya Onder in his office in Salahaddin.

The two members of parliament delivered a letter from Abdula Ocalan to President Barzani. In his letter, Mr. Ocalan expresses his support for the peace process in Turkey and asks for the cooperation of all sides for this process to succeed. He also underlines the importance of coordination among all Kurdish sides.

 Tuesday, 11 Feb 2014

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (KRG.org) – In keeping with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s policy of strengthening relations with members of the international community, the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa along with the Assistant Head of the DFR, Siham Jabali, received the Ambassadors of Bangladesh, Thailand and Hungary during their recent visits to Kurdistan.

The Ambassador of Bangladesh to Iraq, Mr Rezanur Rahman Khan, was visiting the region officially for the first time since his appointment in Baghdad and praised the developments he had witnessed in Kurdistan. He said, ‘This my first time here and it will not be my last time. I look forward to continue our relationship and extend it further.’

Minister Mustafa conveyed to the Ambassador the KRG’s hope to build relations with countries from the international community including Bangladesh. The meeting focused on potential fields of mutual cooperation in the fields of labour and agriculture particularly given the demand for expertise and experience for both here in Kurdistan.

In his meeting with the Ambassador of Thailand, Piriya Khempon, Minister Mustafa reiterated the importance KRG places on extending its relations with the international community and spoke about his hopes that Thailand would open a representative office in Kurdistan in the near future to help ensure the strengthening of bilateral relations.

Both sides discussed areas of mutual interest, focusing on tourism, culture, business and agriculture, with Ambassador Khempon briefing Minister Mustafa on the delegation’s visit to the region as well as the wide range of opportunities for mutual cooperation particularly in tourism and agriculture, which are two of the three sectors prioritized by the KRG in terms of development. The Ambassador was accompanied by a delegation from the Tourism Authority of Thailand who during their visit conducted market surveys and meetings with local companies and travel agencies.

In the third of these bilateral meetings, Minister Mustafa met with the Hungarian Ambassador, Tibor Tamari, who spoke about the latest progress in the opening of the Hungarian Consulate General in Erbil. They also discussed the importance of expanding educational and cultural cooperation and this will be made easier with the opening of the new Consulate General, a lot of progress is expected in relations between both sides.

The Bangladeshi Ambassador had met with the KRG Ministries of Interior, Agriculture and Water Resources, Labour and Social Affairs during his visit, whilst Thailand’s Ambassador met with the KRG Board of Investment and the Chambers of Commerce in Erbil and Slemani. The Hungarian Ambassador met with the KRG Ministers of Natural Resources, Trade and Industry, and Higher Education on his visit.

 Wednesday, 12 Feb 2014

 Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq - (DFR.krg.org) – The Italian Consul in Erbil, Mr Carmelo Ficarra, met today with the Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, and was accompanied by a large delegation of Italian businessmen. The delegation included representatives from companies already working in Kurdistan and others planning on working here in the near future.

Minister Mustafa welcomed the delegation on behalf of the DFR and conveyed his appreciation to Mr Ficarra on the efforts he and his colleagues at the Italian Consular Office are making to ensure these types of visits continue to increase. He outlined the current business conditions in Kurdistan, highlighting the security and stability as well as laws and regulations as important factors that have resulted in real business opportunities and increased interest from companies worldwide.

The Italian delegation briefed Minister Mustafa on the different areas and sectors in which they operate in, which include key sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and architecture. Minister Mustafa said, ‘According to figures from the KRG Ministry of Planning, US $32 billion is needed in investment to help meet Kurdistan’s infrastructural needs. Hence we welcome you all and we hope to see more Italian companies visiting Kurdistan.’

Mr Ficarra thanked the Department of Foreign Relations for their assistance in facilitating the visit of these companies and spoke about the importance that Italy places to its relationship with the Kurdistan Region. He added that further events were in the pipeline to help strengthen economic relations between both sides.

The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Head of the DFR, Karwan Jamal.

 Monday, 10 Feb 2014

Berlin, Germany (KRP.org) – The President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, met the German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin yesterday.

Foreign Minister Steinmeier welcomed President Barzani to Germany and spoke about his visit to Erbil back in 2008, highlighting his desire to visit Kurdistan again soon. He added that he was aware of the rapid developments happening in Kurdistan and reiterated Germany’s commitment to working closely with Kurdistan to further strengthen bilateral relations.

For his part, President Barzani expressed his pleasure at the opportunity of once again meeting Foreign Minister Steinmeier and expressed his hope that the Foreign Minister would indeed visit Kurdistan again soon to witness first-hand the developments in the region. He added that the Kurdistan Region views its ties with Germany with great importance.

President Barzani, briefed Minister Steinmeier on the current situation in Kurdistan, the recent security developments in the Anbar province, relations between Erbil and Baghdad, the upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections in April, the issue of oil exports via Turkey and the impact of the Syrian crisis on Kurdistan and on Iraq.

On the political challenges facing Iraq and especially the security crisis in the Anbar province, the President said, “It is important that a comprehensive solution is found for the problems facing Iraq, and the real solution is for Iraq to be committed to a federal system, which is a basic principle in Iraq’s constitution.”

“It is equally important that all sides work together in the fight against terrorism, especially at a time when they have increasingly grown in strength and now constitute a real threat to the whole region.” He highlighted the roots of the security problems in Anbar and some of the other Iraqi provinces and said that this has become a source of instability to all Iraq.

The President stressed the importance that all political groups in Iraq remain committed to holding the parliamentary elections on time, scheduled in late April this year.

On the KRG policy of exporting oil via Turkey, the President reiterated that ties between Kurdistan and Turkey are based on mutual interests, and that these ties would also serve the interest of Iraq in general. In addition he highlighted the legality of the Kurdistan Region's hydrocarbon policies which are in adherence with Iraq’s constitution.

Finally both sides discussed the latest regarding the formation of a new government in Kurdistan with President Brazani emphasizing that the priorities for Kurdistan are to maintain its security and to continue developing the Region and its economic infrastructure to improve the standards of living for all the people of the region.

The meeting was also attended by the President’s Chief of Staff, Dr Fuad Hussein, the Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa and the KRG Representative to Germany, Dilshad Barzani.