Top officials from Turkish opposition party visit Kurdistan Region PM in Erbil

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A delegation from Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Sunday met with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil, according to a government statement released shortly afterward.

In his meeting with Premier Barzani, CHP Deputy Head Oğuz Kaan Salıc revealed the delegation’s visit to the region is aimed at "fostering ties” between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region "explaining the Turkish party’s outlook on a number of mutually important subjects," read a press release from Barzani’s office.

This is the first visit of its kind by the Salıc or any other member of the party's leadership to the autonomous Kurdistan Region.

On Thursday, Barzani received Ali Riza Guney, Turkey’s newly inaugurated Ambassador to Iraq in the regional capital of Erbil, according to a statement released by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Read More: Kurdistan Region PM receives Turkey’s new ambassador to Iraq

Barzani told the Turkish diplomat that he hoped his tenure sees both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region deepening ties with and the government of their shared northern neighbor.

The two spoke of trade and commerce, but also covered prominently was the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), headquartered in the Kurdistan Region, that has been fighting decades-long conflict between with Ankara over Kurdish rights in Turkey that has led to tens of thousands of deaths on both sides.