Kurdistan Region, French presidents meet in Paris to discuss relations
Barzani arrived in the French capital with a delegation from the Kurdistan Region’s presidency to meet with French authorities, including Macron, according to a statement from Barzani’s office.
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region’s President Nechirvan Barzani and his accompanying delegation was received by the French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday at the presidential palace in Paris.
Barzani arrived in the French capital with a delegation from the Kurdistan Region’s presidency to meet with French authorities, including Macron, according to a statement from Barzani’s office.
“Discussions are set to include the Kurdistan Region and Iraq’s bilateral relations with France, the developments in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region and the greater region, the COVID-19 pandemic and its ongoing implications,” the statement read.
Additionally, the presidents are expected to shed light on “threats posed by terrorism, the mission of the international coalition, [and] the importance of collective cooperation” to confront the Islamic State group.
The relationship between the Kurdistan Region and France is “very valuable,” Fawzi Hariri, chief of staff at the presidency, told Kurdistan 24 on Tuesday.
Tuesday’s meeting is the first between the two presidents following Macron’s visit to Iraq in early September 2020, where he met with Barzani in the capital Baghdad.
“France continues its support to us [Kurdistan Region],” Hariri added, recalling the support the European country provided the Region during the fight against the so-called Islamic State.
In July 2019, Barzani, after his inauguration as the Region’s president, met with his French counterpart in Paris.
Notably, the Kurdistan Region's capital Erbil and French capital Paris are sister cities.
Editing by Joanne Stocker-Kelly
