Prime Minister Masrour Barzani meets Italian counterpart in Rome

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with his Italian counterpart, Giuseppe Conte, in Rome on Tuesday for high-level bilateral talks.

During the meeting, Barzani thanked Conte for Italy’s staunch support in the fight against the so-called Islamic State, including through the training of Peshmerga and police by the Italian carabinieri, a statement the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) released said.

Barzani outlined the KRG’s ambitious reform program it is pursuing, not least to enable foreign investors, including Italian companies, to invest and do business more easily in the Kurdistan Region, it added.

“I am delighted to be in Rome to meet Prime Minister Conte today. I took the chance to thank Italy for its support in the fight against terrorism, including support to the Peshmerga as well as police training, while also noting that a serious threat from ISIS remains—we must keep up the pressure,” Barzani said after the meeting.

“I also underlined the range of trade and investment opportunities available to our Italian friends and look forward to growing our bilateral trade relationship in the years to come.”

A very valuable meeting with Italian Prime Minister @GiuseppeConteIT, in which we underlined the importance of maintaining economic ties as well as close cooperation on regional security. Italy has been firm friend to Kurdistan and we look forward to continued partnership. pic.twitter.com/5IGfgsC1i4

— Masrour Barzani (@masrour_barzani) February 18, 2020

Barzani is expected to continue his bilateral discussions in Rome on Wednesday, holding further talks with the Italian Foreign and Defense Ministers, according to the Kurdish leader’s press office.

His meeting comes days after meetings with various world leaders on the sideline of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Germany.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany