New French Consul General to Kurdistan promises continued support

Olivier Decottignies replaces Dominique Mas as the new Consul General of France to the Kurdistan Region.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani highlighted the positive relations between the Kurdistan Region and France in a meeting on Sunday with the new French Consul General to Kurdistan, Olivier Decottignies.

The meeting started with Prime Minister Barzani extending his congratulations to the Consul General for taking on his new responsibilities and wishing him success in his role, a statement on the Kurdish leader’s official Facebook page read.

In the meeting, Barzani highly praised the positive history between France and Kurdistan, extending his gratitude to Paris for being “supportive toward Kurdish people and the autonomous Kurdistan Region.”

For his part, Decottignies thanked the Kurdish leader, noting that the French government is “observing the KRG cabinet’s plan of action with great importance,” and is prepared to provide its full support to Kurdistan, the statement said.

Decottignies replaces Dominique Mas as the new Consul General of France to the Kurdistan Region.

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France played a pivotal role in easing tensions between Erbil and Baghdad following the Kurdistan Region’s 2017 independence referendum – which included territories disputed between the two administrations – with a majority voting for secession. 

France is also an essential member of the US-led coalition against the so-called Islamic State. Since 2014, the French government has provided humanitarian, logistical, and military support to the Kurdish Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in the fight against the extremist group.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany