Belgium aims to open Honorary Consulate in Kurdistan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Belgium intends to open its embassy in Baghdad and will begin the process of opening an Honorary Consulate in the capital of the Kurdistan Region, Erbil, said a Kurdish official on Saturday.

In a statement, the representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to the European Union (EU) Delawar Ajgeyi said he, along with his accompanied delegates, met Belgian Foreign Ministry officials on Saturday.

According to the statement, the Belgian officials discussed the importance of opening an Honorary Consulate in the Kurdistan Region.

According to Ajgeyi, the Belgian Foreign Ministry plans to choose a diplomat as an ambassador to Iraq who would eventually pave the way for the opening of the consulate in Erbil.

On Dec. 18, the Foreign Ministers of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg, known as the Benelux countries, visited the Kurdistan Region and met with Kurdish officials.

Didier Reynders, the Foreign Minister of Belgium, explained the Union would “look into the future consideration of trade, investment, and economic ties” with the Region.

Belgium’s support for the Kurdish forces would continue, Reynders added, revealing an Honorary Consulate would be opened to start a new process with the KRG.

Kurdistan has the foreign consulate and representative offices of 34 countries around the world, the head of the KRG Foreign Relations Department Falah Mustafa previously told Kurdistan24 during an interview.

The Kurdistan Region is currently home to over 1.8 million refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled from Syria and other parts of Iraq due to the threat of the so-called Islamic State.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany