US Envoy Tom Barrack Praises Kurdistan Region's Role in Regional Stability

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - US Special Envoy for Iraq and Syria Tom Barrack said on Friday that the Kurdistan Region continues to play a vital role in advancing stability, peace, and prosperity across Iraq and the wider region.

In a post published on X, Barrack said he was pleased to meet Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman in Washington as part of the Iraqi delegation led by Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.

"I am delighted to see my friend Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman in Washington as part of the Iraqi delegation headed by PM Zaidi," Barrack wrote. "The Kurdistan Region continues to play a vital role in advancing stability, peace, and prosperity across Iraq and the wider region."

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman serves as senior adviser to Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani for Foreign Affairs and Climate Change. She previously served as the Kurdistan Regional Government's representative to the United States and the United Kingdom.

Part of a broader US vision

Barrack's remarks come hours after he outlined a broader US strategy for the Middle East centered on economic cooperation, trade, and regional integration instead of military intervention.

Speaking at the US-Iraq Business Summit, Barrack said decades of attempts to reshape the Middle East through regime change had failed to produce lasting stability.

"We have learned that diplomacy, intelligence, and military power alone cannot create peace," he said. "Only economic investment and trade can deliver lasting success."

He also presented Iraq as a central pillar of a new regional partnership linking Mesopotamia, Syria, and the Gulf through infrastructure, energy, and transportation projects.

Barrack said the proposed initiative includes a new energy corridor extending through Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan, across Central Asia and onward to Europe, with Iraq positioned at the heart of the emerging regional network.

Barrack's latest remarks underscore the role he sees for the Kurdistan Region within a broader US vision that prioritizes economic cooperation, regional connectivity, and long-term stability across Iraq and the Middle East.