Salahaddin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRP.org) – President Masoud Barzani met with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Mr. Steven Beecroft today for discussions on the current political and security situation in Iraq.

The US Ambassador expressed his concern about the deteriorating security in the country, especially in the Anbar province.

In their meeting, the two discussed the upcoming parliamentary elections, due on April 30th, and its potential implications on the political process in the country. Both expressed their hope that the election results will lead to a diffusion of the challenges and many crises facing the country.

Nazem Dabbagh, the representative of Kurdistan Region Government of Iraq in Tehran said: Maleki’s talks have political goals, while we are approaching Iraq elections, it is important this event not change to a political aim.

Nazem Dabbagh, the Representative of Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq: for several years presence in Iran in different roles and responsibility whether as the

Dr. Jegarkhowein, Deputy-Representative of Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq in Iran:

Norooz has an outstanding and beautiful role in the cultural texture of Arian nations. Great celebration of Arians, at the beginning of the New Year, accompanied by brilliant and magic colours, is the symbol of fresh and anew life of human along with nature and its being. This new day sings the symphony of love and amity; it is the harmonic message of peace and freedom and a witness of magnificence and nobility of Iran nations. On the threshold of the New Year of the nature, it is appropriate take an advantage of Norooz celebration, having a special place among different Arian tribes, as a precious opportunity to high peaceful coexistence of nations.

For when Norooz besides other enriched sources of culture and religion can be the planner and messenger of peace, cooperation and unification to build a world without injustice and to move to a growing and ideal society.

With the presence of Representative of Kurdistan region Government in Iran and political and literary personages of Kurdistan in Iran, a meeting and commemoration held in honour of martyrs of chemical bombing tragedy of Halabcheh and Sardasht in the faculty of sociology science of Tehran University.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq – (DFR.krg.org) – The Polish Consul, Roman Jerzy Chalaczkiewicz, visited the KRG Department of Foreign Relations where he met with Minister Falah Mustafa as his tenure in Kurdistan comes to an end.

The Polish Consul General expressed his pleasure at having been the first Polish diplomat stationed in Kurdistan following the opening of their Embassy Consular Office in Kurdistan and said that this was an important step in building bilateral relations. He highlighted that the Polish Government was keen to further develop political, economic and cultural ties with Kurdistan.  

Minister Mustafa welcomed Mr. Chalaczkiewicz to the DFR and said that he is very optimistic about the future of relations since there are many areas of mutual cooperation. He added that Kurdistan can learn a lot from the experiences of Poland, particularly given their similar transition to a democracy after their revolution of 1989.

Both sides agreed that the high number of exchange visits particularly between officials from different regions within Poland to and from Kurdistan was helping strengthen bilateral ties greatly. These visits indicate Poland’s seriousness in building stronger ties with Kurdistan.

In addition to Poland having a Embassy Consular Office in Kurdistan, the KRG also have a Representative Office in Poland headed by Mr. Ziyad Raoof. 

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq - (DFR.krg.org) – The Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations (DFR), Minister Falah Mustafa and the Assistant Head of the DFR, Siham Jabali met with the Swedish Ambassador to Iraq, Jörgen Lindström and the Head of the Sweden Section Office in Erbil, Jessica Svärdström today. They discussed different ways in which bilateral relations can be strengthened between Sweden and Kurdistan. In addition, they exchanged views on the latest political, economic and security developments in Kurdistan and Iraq.

Ambassador Lindström expressed his pleasure at Sweden’s role in helping further develop the health sector in Kurdistan through Swedish companies working in the region.

Both sides expressed their willingness to strengthen their business relations as more Swedish companies wish to invest in Kurdistan

Sweden has a large Kurdish community, and through the KRG Representation in Sweden and the Swedish office here, both sides are hopeful that bilateral relations will strengthen in the areas of education, health, cultural, and economic interaction.

Minister Mustafa went on to brief the Ambassador on the latest updates regarding the KRG’s government formation, and pointed out the challenges that any new democracy faces when attempting to establish a broad based government.

They also discussed the latest developments regarding the ongoing disputes between Erbil and Baghdad and the prospects for resolving the issues, in accordance with the constitution.

They also talked about the Iraqi parliamentary elections that are scheduled to take place at the end of April. Minister Mustafa said ’we need the support of the international community through international observers in order to ensure that elections are held on time and conducted in a free and fair manner.’

Finally they spoke about the ongoing crisis in Syria, its implications and the conditions of the Syrian refugees living in Kurdistan, where the Ambassador stated his country’s continued support in providing assistance to the refugees.

During his trip to Kurdistan, Ambassador Lindström also visited the governorates of Sulemani and Duhok where he held meetings with various officials.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq – (DFR.krg.org) - Following the opening of Canada’s Trade Representation Office in Erbil last month, a Canadian delegation headed by Canada’s Ambassador to Iraq Bruno Saccomani visited Kurdistan to work on boosting educational and agricultural ties.

As part of their visit to the region, the delegation visited the Department of Foreign Relations where they were received by the Head of the Department, Minister Falah Mustafa and the Assistant Head of the DFR, Siham Jabali.

Ambassador Saccomani spoke about his pleasure with the speed with which relations are growing between Kurdistan and Canada. He attributed this in part due to the opening of the Trade Representation Office in Erbil and the visit by Canada’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Consular Services, Lynne Yelich last month. A Kurdish – Canadian economic forum also took place during Minister Yelich’s visit.

Minister Mustafa welcomed the delegation and Ambassador Saccomani to the DFR and said that he was pleased with the level of commitment being shown by the Canadian government in finding ways of mutual cooperation. He said, ‘We welcome these exchanges of visits and we would benefit greatly through educational cooperation and exchange programs with Canada.’

The Canadian delegation briefed the Minister about the purposes of this visit, highlighting that they want to focus for now on educational and agricultural cooperation. They added that they hoped that they could build educational linkages, and are working on promoting Canada as a destination for students from the region, both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The delegation also held meetings at the Ministry of Higher Education and Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources.