EU chief diplomat visits Kurdistan Region: Official

Halgurd Sherwani 2021/09/07 10:06

Josep Borrell (center) is pictured as he landed in Baghdad International Airport on Monday for his two-day visit to the country, Sept. 6, 2021. (Photo: EU)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On Tuesday, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, is visiting the Kurdistan Region, an official from the Iraqi government has said.

On Monday, Mr. Borrell met with top Iraqi officials in Baghdad, including Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, President Barham Salih, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein.

The EU official will be in the Kurdistan Region on Tuesday to meet its top officials, Hussein said in a press conference on Monday.

The European leader discussed various issues with the Iraqi officials, including EU-Iraq relations, climate change, and the upcoming October elections in Iraq.

Borrell’s is the first visit of an EU High Representative to the Kurdistan Region since his predecessor, Federica Mogherini, visited in 2014.

The Kurdistan Region and the EU have an established diplomatic relationship. The EU has had a liaison office in the Region since 2015, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has a representation office in Brussels, Belgium.

Borrell’s visit represents “good political support” for the Kurdistan Region as the EU seeks to establish a more independent foreign policy, Delavar Ajgeiy, the KRG Representative to the European consortium, told Kurdistan 24 on Tuesday.

According to the Kurdish official, out of 27 EU member states, more than 14 have diplomatic representations in Kurdistan Region.

The EU has a strategic framework through which it deals with the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. It supports a stable and peaceful relationship between KRG and the federal government and the full application of the Iraqi constitution, including its provisions on Kurdish autonomy.