German defense minister to visit Kurdistan Region after trip to Baghdad

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Germany’s new defense minister, along with an accompanying delegation met with Iraqi officials on Tuesday and is expected to visit the autonomous Kurdistan Region for meetings on Wednesday.

During her first foreign visit since she was sworn into office in July, German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer met with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi and her Iraqi counterpart to discuss future cooperation between the two countries.

The two discussed “security developments” in Iraq while the German minister expressed her willingness to expand the collaboration from “security to include economic and reconstruction of Iraq’s infrastructure,” a statement the Iraqi prime minister’s office released said.

In a press conference following her meeting with Iraq’s defense minister, Kramp-Karrenbauer reminded that the so-called Islamic State threat “still exists,” and affirmed “Germany’s support to the Iraqi forces.”  

The German minister and her delegation, which includes four German parliamentarians, are expected to meet with senior Kurdish leaders in the autonomous Kurdistan Region on Wednesday to discuss the enhancement of Kurdistan Region-Germany ties and cooperation at all levels.

The delegation will also meet with representatives of the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Interior to discuss the latest collaboration between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and German governmental institutes regarding joint capacity development, sources close to the meetings said.

The latest collaboration between Kurdistan and Germany in crisis response capacity building training is reflected in the establishment of a crisis rapid response unit in the Kurdistan Region through joint efforts by Germany’s Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) and the KRG’s Joint Crisis Coordination Centre (JCC).

Germany is a member of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, providing military training to the Peshmerga and Iraqi Security Forces. Germany has also provided substantial military aid to the Kurdish forces, including weapons and ammunition.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany