Salahadin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, (KRP.org) - Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani received a delegation from Canada today at his office in Salahadin. The delegation was headed by Ms. Lynne Yelich, Canada's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Consular. During the meeting the President welcomed the delegation and expressed hope that the relations between the Kurdistan Region and Canada will grow further.

Ms. Yelich and President Barzani discussed a number of current issues facing Iraq and the Middle East, including the ongoing influx of Syrian refugees to the Kurdistan Region.

The Canadian delegation is planning to open a trade mission in Erbil so that Canadian corporations can more easily solidify their presence in the Kurdistan Region. In addition to oil and gas, education and other areas of focus for the Canadian trade mission, the President stressed on the need for cooperation on the development of the agriculture sector in Kurdistan.

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.

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