Iraq’s Minister of Youth and Sports meets KRG officials in Erbil

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Minister of Youth and Sports in Iraq traveled to Erbil on Thursday to meet with top officials in the Kurdistan Region as part of efforts to coordinate ongoing sports activities organized by the federal and regional governments.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani received Minister Ahmed al-Obeidi "discussed the need to further strengthen ties between the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] and the federal government of Iraq, particularly in the youth and sports sector," read a KRG statement.

Barzani "conveyed the KRG’s support for the sector and affirmed that cooperation on sports, including the Kurdistan Region’s participation in international events, should not be affected by the political disputes between Erbil and Baghdad."

For his part, "Obeidi extended his ministry’s willingness to strengthen sports relations with the Kurdistan Region and develop more activities with the participation of the Kurdistan Region."

At the mountaintop headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), located in Erbil's Pirmam, KDP leader Masoud Barzani leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party also hosted Obeidi.

According to another statement, the minister "thanked Barzani for his efforts in further strengthening the culture of coexistence and tolerance among the various ethnicities and minorities in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region."

They also spoke of Iraq’s current political crisis caused by mass anti-government demonstrations that have been raging since October in which the nation's youth have taken a primary role. The two officials both claimed to support the young protester’s demands as well as being keen to take the necessary, though unspecified, steps to improve the general conditions for both the nation's youth and of its sporting events. 

Editing by John J. Catherine