Politics

KRG representative to US attends Washington counter-IS coalition meetings

“I am very pleased to see the international community showing such a strong commitment to the people of Iraq. The support pledged today, over $2 billion, will be critical to the stabilization of the region,” Abdulrahman said.

Sangar Ali 2016/07/20 12:34

kurdistan Kurdistan Iraq ISIS Peshmerga USA Mosul ISIL US-led coalition Washington

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) representative to the US, Bayan Sami Abdulrahman attended Washington anti-IS coalition conference as part of the Iraqi delegation led by Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

The US held the first joint ministerial of the Counter-IS Coalition in Washington on July 21. The meeting was led by the US Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.

According to the US Department of State, the participating members reviewed the campaign to find better strategies on how to accelerate the demise of IS.

"We see that on the ground. In Iraq, as I saw firsthand last week during my most recent visit there, we’re enabling the dedicated Iraqi Security Forces and the Peshmerga led by Prime Minister Abadi and supported by Kurdish Regional President Barzani," Kerry said.

“It will include a detailed discussion of priorities for the Coalition’s multiple lines of effort...to increase the momentum of the campaign,” read the report from the Spokesperson of the US Department of State.

Peshmerga is one of the most efficient ground forces in the fight against the jihadists. The Kurdish forces have successfully liberated large swaths of territories in the north of the country from IS.

President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani has often stated in his meetings with foreign delegations that “Peshmerga fights on behalf of the entire world.”

Additionally, the Region is home to 1.8 million refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).

According to the KRG Joint Crisis Coordination Center (JCC), around 500,000 more IDPs are expected to escape to the Kurdistan Region when the Mosul offensive begins.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany