KRG participates in meeting world leaders in New York

Safeen Dizayee, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG’s) Department of Foreign Relations, has been visiting New York over the past week...

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – Safeen Dizayee, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG’s) Department of Foreign Relations, has been visiting New York over the past week as a member of the Iraqi delegation, headed by President Barham Salih, to the opening of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.

READ MORE: Iraqi President Barham Salih addresses UN General Assembly

Speaking to Kurdistan 24, Dizayee listed the meetings the delegation had had, as of Tuesday, with a truly impressive number of world leaders: US President Donald Trump; French President Emmanuel Macron; German Chancellor Angela Merkel; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson; Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte; as well as the Bulgarian President, Rumen Radev; and the President of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili.

Bulgaria and Georgia are part of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, as are France, Germany, Italy, and the UK.

Dizayee described the meetings as “very cordial and friendly.” Topics included the broader security situation in the Middle East, as well as Iraq, including the re-emergence of the so-called Islamic State and the highlights of talks between Erbil and Baghdad.

Dizayee explained that there was a “positive atmosphere between Erbil and Baghdad that has been developing since the beginning of this year, particularly with the formation of the new cabinet.”

“This process is ongoing,” he continued, and it has led to a much better environment “in which to address our issues with Baghdad.”

The Kurdish representative has enjoyed a more prominent position in the Iraqi delegation this year than in previous years, in significant part, because of the improved ties between Erbil and Baghdad.

“In general, we’re happy with the level of meetings that have taken place,” Dizayee stated, “and we hope that in future years, there will be more participation of the Kurdistan Region so that we would be able, in our own contacts and meetings, to present our case.”

Responding to a question from Kurdistan 24 about religious freedom, which is a high priority of the Trump administration, Dizayee explained that most of the religious minority communities in the Nineveh Plains, who were targeted for persecution by the Islamic State, fled to the Kurdistan Region, and they are residing now in Kurdistan.

READ MORE: US Envoy hails religious tolerance of Kurds, stresses need for Peshmerga, ISF security coordination

Dizayee noted there had been a conference on religious tolerance in Abu Dhabi in February which was sponsored by the office of the US Vice-President, Mike Pence, and the United Arab Emirates.

“We participated in that meeting,” he explained, and we “highlighted” our “tradition and culture and heritage” of “co-existence and peace” among “religious and ethnic groups living together in Kurdistan.”

Dizayee also explained that the Iraqi delegation was scheduled to have meetings with the presidents of Iran and Turkey. “Hopefully, in these meetings, there will be more understanding about the concerns that all countries have over certain issues,” he stated most diplomatically.

Editing by Nadia Riva