Masoud Barzani thanks UAE for humanitarian aid to refugees, IDPs in Iraq, Kurdistan

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Masoud Barzani on Sunday received the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Consul-General to Erbil, Rashid al-Mansour, and reaffirmed good friendship, and strong mutual relations with the Gulf country.

During the meeting, Mansour delivered a letter by the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, to Barzani, the former Kurdistan Region President and head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), according to a statement by the leader’s office.

The official statement did not disclose the contents of the letter.

Barzani “thanked the work and activities of charity by the country of Emirates in helping displaced persons and refugees to Iraq and Kurdistan,” the statement continued.

On Monday, funded by the Red Crescent Society (RCS) of the UAE, the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) distributed thousands of packages to orphans in Erbil, and the project continued to the rest of the Kurdistan Region throughout the week.

The RCS was founded in 1983 with the support of Nahyan’s father, the late Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan. The non-profit organization carries out Red Cross operations on a systematic basis throughout the UAE.

The UAE has also pledged USD 50 million worth of funding for reconstruction projects in northeast Syria, where the US-led Coalition, working in partnership with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has expelled the Islamic State.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany