Washington DC conference to discuss Kurdistan independence referendum

 WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan24) – On Friday, The Washington Times, in partnership with Kurdistan 24, will host a conference in Washington DC to explore the most important issues involved in the upcoming referendum on Kurdish independence.

“The Kurdistan Region: Strategic US Ally in a Tough Neighborhood” is the overall theme of the event. As Kurdistan 24’s General Manager, Noreldin Waisy, explained, the conference will shed light on crucial aspects of the campaign for Kurdish independence, including why the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has decided to hold the referendum now and what it might mean for the US.

This will be the first major conference in the US capital on Kurdish independence.

In conjunction with the daylong symposium, The Washington Times will publish a 36-page Special Section on Kurdistan, which will expand on the major issues raised during the event.

They include the key role that the Peshmerga have played in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), along with a look to the future after IS is defeated.

Topics to be discussed include: How can the Kurdistan Region work in cooperation with the US to further peace and stability in this part of the world? How can the positive role that the Kurds have already played be continued, or even expanded? How can the US and KRG work together to ensure that no successor to IS re-emerges in the future?

One panel of particular interest is devoted to the independence referendum. What is the purpose of the referendum? How will it be carried out? What will happen afterward?

Senior Kurdish figures, including Masrour Barzani, Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council, and Najmaldin Karim, Governor of Kirkuk, will address those questions.

Other sessions will include the safe haven for religious and ethnic minorities that the Kurdistan Region has provided nearly two million people who have fled IS.

A fourth session will describe the considerable economic opportunities in a post-IS Kurdistan.

The event will be held at the US Congress, and a number of congressmen are slated to speak at it.

The conference will bring together Kurdish and American officials, as well as journalists, think-tank experts, and academics, and it will provide opportunities, both formal and informal, for exchanging views.

Because the US is a global power, its national security agenda is typically quite crowded. However, these are particularly hectic days, with the start of a new administration, still fleshing out its own policies, an emerging and immediate threat from North Korea, and a heated dispute about Russia.

Therefore, it is necessary for institutions like Kurdistan 24 to make a special effort to explain the Kurds’ situation and their perspectives to Americans and facilitate informed discussion in Washington, Waisy explained. 

Kurdistan 24 will broadcast the conference live and provide extensive coverage on our websites as well. RSVP to the event here.