Erbil, Kurdistan – Iraq (KRG.org) – Canada’s Minister of State (Foreign Affairs and Consular Services), Lynne Yelich, along with Canadian Ambassador to Iraq, Bruno Saccomani, and an accompanying delegation visited the Kurdistan Region on Wednesday 12 February for a two day visit which culminated in the official opening of Canada’s Trade Representation Office in Erbil.

This was the first visit to the region by a Canadian Minister and during her visit she met with the President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, the KRG Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, the Head of Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, the Minister of Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami, the KRG Minister of Planning, Ali Sindi  and the Minister of Construction and Housing who is also the Acting Chairman of Board of Investment, Kamaran Ahmed.

A trade delegation comprised of a number of Canadian companies accompanied the official delegation on their visit and participated alongside their Kurdish counterpart in the first Economic Forum between Kurdistan and Canada. At the end of the Forum, an official reception took place to officially announce the opening of the Canadian Trade Representation with both Minister Yelich and Minister Mustafa speaking about the importance of this step in terms of establishing bilateral relations which benefit both sides.

During the meeting with President Barzani, both sides discussed a number of current issues facing Iraq and the Middle East, including the current situation in Syria and the impact of the humanitarian crisis on Kurdistan given the influx of refugees. In addition to discussing oil and gas, education and other areas of cooperation, the President highlighted the importance on the need for cooperation in the agriculture sector.

The Canadian delegation also met with KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, where Minister Yelich expressed her pleasure at visiting Kurdistan and said that she was impressed with the level of progress taking place. She expressed her hope that the opening of the Trade Representation would result in the expansion of bilateral relations across many sectors.

During her visit, Minister Yelich visited the Department of Foreign Relations where the Head of the DFR, Minister Falah Mustafa welcomed them and briefed them about the opportunities that exist in the region, highlighting specific areas where Canadian expertise can be utilized. He added, ‘We want to develop a relationship which focuses on the areas of need such as agriculture, tourism, industry, education and infrastructure.’

Canadian Minister Yelich said that she was pleased to visit Kurdistan and hoped to build on the work that Canada has already started here given the number of opportunities available. She added, ‘There is so much I see in common with Canada here and what you have achieved in the last ten years is impressive.’

Also during the visit, the delegation visited the Citadel and the textile museum where the Governor of Erbil, Nawzad Hadi briefed the Minister and the delegation on its history and outlined the KRG’s activities and future plans in restoring it.

Minister Mustafa spoke after the end of the visit about the importance of Minister Yelich's visit given the federal form of governance in Canada, which Iraq and Kurdistan can learn a lot from. The separation of powers from the federal government and the provinces in Canada is important to learn from in order for Iraq to truly function as a federal state in adherence to its constitution.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq - (DFR.krg.org) – The Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations (DFR), Minister Falah Mustafa welcomed the nonresident Canadian Ambassador to Iraq and Jordan, Mr Bruno Saccomani today to discuss the future of bilateral relations between Canada and the KRG.

This visit comes as a follow-up of the Ambassador's visit to the DFR in early October 2013 where the newly appointed Ambassador announced his six months plan to strengthen bilateral ties with the Kurdistan Region and its Government.

Minister Mustafa welcomed Ambassador Saccomani’s efforts and his support and dedication to the Kurdistan Region.

Ambassador Saccomani assured Minister Mustafa that he sees great potential in Kurdistan and is willing to put Kurdistan as well as Iraq on the forefront of Canada’s foreign policy.

Canada is due to sending a Trade delegation of a number of companies to visit the Kurdistan Region and explore its endless opportunities for investment.

Minister Mustafa briefed the Ambassador on the Syrian Refugee crisis and of the increased number of IDPs who have fled to the Kurdistan Region as violence continues in the Anbar province.

Ambassador Saccomani was accompanied by the Canadian Charge d'affairs in Baghdad, Ms Stephanie Duhaime and Senior Trade Commissioner, Jean-Philippe Tachdjian.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq - (DFR.krg.org) – The Head of the KRG, Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, today welcomed the non-resident Canadian Ambassador to Iraq, Bruno Saccomani, to discuss the ways in which both sides can work together more closely. This visit follows a similar visit by the Canadian Ambassador to Kurdistan this past October.

The meeting was attended by the Deputy Head of the DFR, Karwan Jamal, the Senior Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Embassy, Jean-Philippe Tachdjian and a number of other Canadian Embassy and DFR officials.

Minister Falah Mustafa welcomed Ambassador Saccomani to the region and expressed his pleasure at the level of commitment that the Canadian government is showing towards Kurdistan. He expressed his pleasure with the plans that Canada has in place towards opening their Embassy Office in the region.

Ambassador Saccomani briefed Minister Mustafa on his trip, highlighting his visit to Domiz Camp to visit the Syrian refugees there and said that his team was evaluating the needs of the refugees and spoke about Canada’s continued commitment towards assisting the Syrian refugees affected by the ongoing crisis.

The Ambassador went on to brief Minister Mustafa on the latest developments regarding the groundwork for opening their Embassy Office and expressed his hopes of this paving the way for the start of good economic relations between both sides. He went on to add that a trade delegation is expected to visit from Canada in February with Minister Mustafa welcoming these steps and expressing the full support of the KRG to the Embassy’s mission in Iraq.

Minister Mustafa thanked the Ambassador for the commitment being shown by him and his government and said, “We welcome this partnership and we will support you in any way that we can. We also thank you for your concern and interest in helping Syrian refugees here whether on camp or off camp.’