Sri Lankan envoy reviews economic, trade, tourism ties with Kurdistan

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Iraq Niranjan Ranasinghe visited the autonomous Kurdistan Region on Wednesday to discuss and review bilateral ties with senior Kurdish leaders.

Ranasinghe met with the Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC), Masrour Barzani, to review trade between the Kurdistan Region and Sri Lanka and “measures to increase volumes and expertise, in particular in agriculture and industry,” a KRSC statement said.

Barzani welcomed Sri Lanka’s support to foster economic growth, the press office added. They also discussed the strong cultural, people-to-people ties between both nations.

In November 2017, Sri Lanka officially opened its Honorary Consulate in the Kurdistan Region.

Ranasinghe on Wednesday also met with the President of the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), and the former President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani.

Both sides stressed the fostering of bilateral ties and reviewed relations in trade, economy, and tourism, according to Barzani’s press office.

The Sri Lankan envoy briefly talked about the history of his country in terms of the economy and tourism.

Following the military defeat of the Islamic State in Iraq in late 2017, many countries have started to invest in Iraq, particularly in the Kurdistan Region which continues to remain the safest and most stable part of the country.

Trade and tourism are one of the sectors that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) aims to develop.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany