Rome, Italy (KRP.org) – Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani arrived in Rome on Wednesday to meet with the Pope and Italian government officials.

During his two-day visit, the President held separate meetings with the Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, President of the Italian Senate, Mr. Pietro Grasso, and with the chairman and members of the senate foreign relations committee.

The meetings focused on bilateral ties, the political developments in Iraq- particularly after the recent parliamentary elections, the Syrian refugees, and the situation of Christians in Iraq and in Kurdistan.
In the meeting with Foreign Minister Mogherini, she said she is pleased with the status of her country’s economic and political relations with the KRG and that her country will soon upgrade her country’s diplomatic representation to a full consulate general.

On the situation of refugees in Kurdistan, the foreign minister commended the KRG for taking in refugees not only from Syria, but also Arabs and Christians from other parts of Iraq. She expressed her country’s willingness to help the KRG in its efforts to support these refugees.

The two also discussed the political developments in Iraq and efforts to form a new government after the recent elections. In this regards, President Barzani said that the Kurdistan Region has formed a unified negotiation team for talks with other Iraqi parties. He stated that the people of Kurdistan cannot wait another ten years for their legitimate and constitutional demands to be addressed. If these demands are not addressed, then the KRG leadership would ask the people of Kurdistan through a referendum to decide on their future relationship with Baghdad.

Salahaddin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRP.org) – Kurdistan Region President met with Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Osama Nujeifi in Erbil on Thursday. The two discussed political and security developments in the country, as well as the election process and political prospects for the country after this election.

They both agreed that once the final election results are announced by the Interdependent High Electoral Commission, talks should commence between all sides to rescue the country from its political crises.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRP.org) – Europe Day was commemorated in Erbil on the 9th of May in a special ceremony, with the participation of Kurdistan Region President, head of the European Union Delegation to Iraq, UN Secretary-General Envoy to Iraq, and ambassadors and representatives of a number of countries in Erbil.

Salahaddin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRP.org) – Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani will visit France and Italy in the coming days. The President will meet French President François Hollande in Paris and Pope Francis in the Vatican. The President will also meet senior Italian government officials in Rome.

President Barzani and an accompanying KRG delegation will aim to boost KRG’s relations with France and Italy.

Salahddin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRP.org) – On the anniversary of the chemical bombardment of the town of Halabja, Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani today, the 16th March 2014, signed a regional directive to promote Halabja from district status to a province.

Salahaddin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRP.org) – Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Hasan Danayifer in his office in Salahaddin.

The President and the Iranian ambassador discussed bilateral relations, political and security developments in Iraq and their effect on the region and neighboring countries. Both sides hailed the good relations that exist between the two sides and expressed hope that these ties will further strengthen

Salahaddin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRP.org) – Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met leader of Gorran Movement Nosherwan Mustafa on Thursday, a statement by Chief of Staff of Kurdistan Region Presidency Fuad Hussein said.

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.