France’s Macron to visit Kurdistan Region, meet President Masoud Barzani
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region on Sunday will host President Emmanuel Macron in Erbil as part of the French president’s second visit to Iraq, French media reported earlier. The European leader is also planned to meet with President Masoud Barzani in the Kurdish capital.
Iraq is preparing to host a regional summit on Saturday dubbed the “Iraqi Neighboring Countries Conference” in its capital of Baghdad, to which leaders of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Turkey are invited.
For his two-day visit in Iraq, the French president will land in Baghdad firstly to take part in the country’s regional summit, according to Élysée Palace.
Following his Baghdad stop, President Macron is planned to fly to Kurdistan Region's Erbil in the north, where he will meet President Masoud Barzani, the former president of the Kurdistan Region and current leader of the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), France-Ouest reported.
The KDP’s foreign relations confirmed the news later.
President @EmmanuelMacron will arrive in Erbil on Sunday for talks with the KRI officials including President @masoud_barzani and President Nechirvan Barzani @IKRPresident. President Macron’s visit to Baghdad and Erbil comes at a critical stage at the Federal and Regional levels.
— KDP ForeignRelations (@kdpfro) August 26, 2021
In his visit to the Kurdish capital, where he will be greeted by the top officials of the region, Mr. Macron will reiterate on his country’s support in the fight against terrorism, according to the French media.
This is the second visit of the top French official to Iraq following his early September 2020 to the country, where he met Kurdish and Iraqi officials.
The European leader will visit Mosul, according to the French report, adding he is planned to meet with the province’s figures as well as religious leaders.
In the coming weeks, officials in Baghdad are also planning to play the dual roles of both host and mediator to bitter regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran.
