UK envoy has ‘high level of ambition’ for relations with Kurdistan Region in coming year

The UK and the Kurdistan Region will foster further cooperation in various areas

Kurdistan 24 2021/12/23 11:34

Kurdistan UK KRI Flood Erbil New Year Judiciary

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United Kingdom Consul General in Erbil is optimistic that Erbil and London will continue to enjoy strong bilateral relations in the coming year.

The UK and the Kurdistan Region will foster further cooperation in various areas, including business and security, in 2022, David Hunt, the British envoy to the autonomous region, told Kurdistan 24 on Tuesday.

“I have got a really high level of ambition for the bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the UK next year,” Hunt said, adding he would do his best to make sure that the diplomatic relationships are “strong, deep, and sustaining.”

Through the Judicial Development program in Erbil and Sulaimani, the UK has been providing support and expertise for Kurdish judges and defense lawyers.

The UK extends condolences to Erbil flood victims

The British envoy extended his condolences to those affected by the last week’s deadly flash floods in Erbil. The floods killed 12 people and caused significant material damage to both public and private properties.

The recent flood “highlights the terrible impact of climate change,” and the UK and Kurdistan Region need to work together to prevent the natural disaster from affecting people’s lives, the diplomat added.

“We can put in place the necessary mitigations, so our citizens are safe and we can deal with climate change in a right way,” Hunt added.

The UK this year hosted the United Nations’ 26th Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, where world leaders gathered to discuss the looming threat of global warming and extreme weather.

During the climate conference, the country’s diplomatic representation in the Kurdistan Region screened “Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet”, a documentary showing the extensive damages inflicted on earth and the ecosystem, on Nov. 10. Kurdish environmentalists and climate activists attended the screening.

President Nechirvan Barzani recently visited the UK, where he was welcomed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Britain's secretaries of state, defense, education as well as former British Prime Minister Sir John Major.