Politics

Iranian FM arrives in Erbil, meets Kurdistan Region President

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif arrived in the Kurdistan Region after a round of meetings with top Iraqi officials in Baghdad earlier in the day.

Mustafa Shilani 2020/07/19 17:14

kurdistan Kurdistan KRG Iran Erbil

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Sunday afternoon, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif arrived in the Kurdistan Region's Erbil following a day of meetings with senior Iraqi officials in Baghdad.

The Iranian minister arrived at the Erbil International Airport, where he was received by Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa, the region's vice president. He then held a meeting with the President of the autonomous Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani.

"We as the Kurdistan Region always emphasized the importance of relations with neighboring countries, and Iran is an important neighbor to Iraq and the [Kurdistan] Region," said Barzani during a joint press conference with Zarif.

President Barzani said that he discussed with Zarif the latest "political developments" in the region, as well as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the region and trade movement.

He extended Erbil's gratitude to Iran for its support of the region during the outbreak.

From his end, Zarif said, "we have good relations with the Kurdish people, strong commercial and economic ties with the region and Iraq, and we look forward to developing those ties further."

"The coronavirus pandemic has not affected this relationship because the trade exchange has not stopped, we are looking forward to developing ties in all fields, especially in the energy sector," Zarif added.

The Iranian official arrived in Baghdad earlier in the day and held a series of meetings, beginning with his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein. He also held discussions with Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, President Barham Salih, and Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi.

This marks the first visit by a top Iranian government official to Iraq since Mustafa al-Kadhimi took office as prime minister. The Iranian official said upon his arrival in Baghdad that his visit aims to enhance bilateral relations between Iraq and Iran.

The Iranian Foreign Minister is scheduled to meet with Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and Masrour Barzani, the Kurdistan Region Prime Minister.

Editing by Khrush Najari