Italian defense chief to visit Kurdistan Region

The Kurdish diplomat did not further elaborate on the agenda of the minister’s visit.

Kurdistan 24 2023/05/02 14:00

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto pictured during a NATO session. (Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP)

Kurdistan Italy KRG Kurdistan Region Guido Crosetto

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Italian Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, will visit Erbil on Tuesday, the Kurdish region’s top diplomat told Kurdistan 24.

The Italian official is expected to meet with the Region’s top officials during his visit, Safeen Dizayee, the head of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Foreign Relations, told Kurdistan 24 in an interview on the sideline of the International Scientific Conference on the Genocide of Kurdistan Nation (the Genocide of Feyli Kurds).

The Kurdish diplomat did not further elaborate on the agenda of the minister’s visit.

It is the first visit of Crosetto to Kurdistan following his assumption of the post in October 2022.

The US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf is also expected to arrive in the Kurdish region on Wednesday, Dizayee added.

The Italian official’s visit comes as the Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani visited the European country on April 13 and met with a number of senior officials.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the Kurdistan Region in late 2022.

Since 2014, Italy has taken part in the multinational coalition called Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). Currently, there are nearly 300 Italian soldiers in the Kurdistan Region.