Security

Deputy Parliament speaker Hawrami thanks EU for assistance to Peshmerga

Dr. Hawrami said that the EU's continued assistance to the Peshmerga forces is very important, as ISIS has reemerged and is staging more attacks.

Wladimir van Wilgenburg 2022/01/25 11:01

Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami thanked the EU for its assistance during an online meeting on Monday, Jan. 24, 2022 (Photo: Kurdistan Parliament)

Kurdistan Hemin Hawrami Kurdistan Parliament Peshmerga EU ISIS

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Parliament Deputy Speaker Hemin Hawrami thanked the EU for assisting the Kurdish Peshmerga during an online meeting of the European Parliament Delegation for Relations with Iraq hosted by the chair Sara Skyttedal MEP on Monday.

. @KurdistanParl Deputy Speaker Dr. @heminhawrami held virtual meeting w @Europarl_EN European Parliament's Delegation for Relations with Iraq, thanked EU for supporting Kurdistan's institution-building, democratic devpt & assisting Peshmerga forces facing the reemergence of ISIS pic.twitter.com/vZiAhwn1wt
— Kurdistan Parliament (@KurdistanParl) January 24, 2022

"Deputy Speaker Hawrami thanked the European Union for their assistance and support for Kurdistan Region's institution-building and democratic development," the website of the Kurdistan Parliament said in a press release on Monday.

Dr. Hawrami said that the EU's continued assistance to the Peshmerga forces is very important, as ISIS has reemerged and is staging more attacks.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday also expressed his concern about the increase in the number of ISIS terrorist attacks in Iraq and Syria and emphasized the importance of strengthening the Kurdistan Region's defensive lines and security measures against the terror threat.

On Thursday, 200 ISIS militants attacked a prison holding ISIS members in the northeastern Kurdish-controlled city of Hasakah. Dozens of ISIS militants were killed near the prison. Until now, the fight is still ongoing between Kurdish-backed forces and ISIS.

Moreover, the MEPs (European Parliament Members) and Deputy Speaker Hawrami discussed how to further develop relations between their respective parliaments.

Hawrami and the EP Delegation for Relations with Iraq also discussed the causes of migration from the Kurdistan Region and possible solutions.

Thousands of migrants from the Kurdistan Region traveled to the Belarus-Poland border in hopes of entering a European Union country late last year.

They ended up trapped in freezing conditions on the international frontier, causing a crisis that drew international attention.

In cooperation with the Iraqi government, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has organized several repatriation flights for migrants willing to return to the country voluntarily.

On Jan. 17, in a meeting with Prime Minister Barzani, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis thanked the KRG for its cooperation with EU states on that issue and for facilitating the voluntary return of a large number of Kurdish migrants stranded on the borders of Belarus and the EU states.

The European Parliament Delegation also said that the Iraqi parliamentary election of October 2021 was well-managed and competitive and expressed its hope that the next Iraqi government will be formed as soon as possible.

So far, tensions have increased in Baghdad between rival Shia blocs over the formation of the government.

Several MEPs; the European Union External Action Service; Delavar Ajgeiyi, the KRG's Representative in the EU; staff of the Iraqi Embassy in Brussels; and others participated in the online meeting, the Kurdistan Parliament said.