PM Barzani Urges AUK Graduates to Lead, Build Kurdistan Region’s Future

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday called on graduates of the American University of Kurdistan (AUK) to take leadership, uphold ethical values and contribute to the future development of the Kurdistan Region.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani made the remarks during AUK’s graduation ceremony for the Class of 2026 in Duhok, where 122 students graduated and 117 walked across the stage.

Addressing the graduates, Prime Minister Barzani highlighted the diversity of the class, with students coming from different parts of Iraq, the Kurdistan Region and beyond.

“You are graduating into a moment that matters,” Barzani said, referring to ongoing instability and challenges in the Middle East.

He said the Kurdistan Region had remained resilient while working with its partners to address political, security and economic challenges.

Barzani also highlighted the Region’s response to recent regional disruptions, including its contribution to Iraq’s oil exports during the Strait of Hormuz crisis and the provision of electricity to citizens outside the Kurdistan Region.

The prime minister said the Kurdistan Region had also faced more than 1,000 drone and missile attacks targeting its infrastructure and economy.

“Their goal was to stop Kurdistan in its tracks. They failed,” Barzani said, stressing that the Region had remained resilient and continued working with its partners.

He told the graduates that a strong the Kurdistan Region requires unity, describing partnership and power-sharing as principles that should continue to guide the Region.

Barzani, who also chairs AUK’s Board of Trustees, said the university had made significant progress since its establishment 12 years ago, including securing candidacy with a U.S. institutional accreditor and accreditation for its nursing program.

He said AUK’s next decade would focus on moving “from excellence to impact,” with the goal of strengthening the Region’s prosperity, institutions and communities.

“By 2035, our vision is simple and bold: AUK will be the first choice students turn to,” Barzani said.

He also highlighted AUK’s new Men’s Residence Hall, which he said was the first building in Iraq to receive LEED Gold certification for sustainable construction.

Barzani urged the graduates to maintain high ethical standards, contribute to their communities, and uphold democracy, justice and equality.

“Do not wait for permission to lead. Do not wait for someone else to fix what you can fix,” he said.

“You came here to learn what you are good at. You leave here to show the world what you are good for.”

Below is a full speech of the Prime Minister: 

Your Excellency, President of the Kurdistan Region, Kak Nechirvan Barzani, Your Excellency, the Head of the Iraqi Al-Asas Coalition Mr. Mohsen Mandalawi, distinguished officials, guests, members of the AUK’s Board of Trustees, esteemed AUK President, Vice Presidents, faculty and staff, proud parents and families, and, above all, the graduating Class of 2026 – good evening.

Graduates, before I say another word, turn around. Look at the people behind you, the mothers and fathers, the brothers and sisters, the teachers and friends who carried you here. Tonight belongs to them too. Give them the applause they have earned.

Now look at the person beside you. Tonight we celebrate 122 graduates. 117 of you walk across this stage. Some of you came from the center and south of Iraq. Some of you came from across the Kurdistan Region. Some of you came from beyond Iraq’s borders.

Different cities. Different languages at the dinner table. Different stories. And yet, here you are – one class, one stage, one future.

That is not an accident. That is exactly what this university was built for.

I stand before you as Chairman of this Board and as Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government. But tonight, I speak to you first as someone who believes in you. Twelve years ago, AUK was a dream. Tonight, you are the proof that the dream was worth it.

You are graduating into a moment that matters. The Middle East has entered another critical phase of instability, and Iraq sits at its heart, facing threats from within and from without. Here in Kurdistan, we saw those dangers early, and we moved swiftly to engage our partners in Baghdad. Today, our joint efforts are laying the foundations of a new Iraqi state under the government led by Prime Minister al-Zaidi, a government we have resolved to support, actively and fully, as it confronts the political, security, and economic challenges facing Iraq and the wider region.

And we have not supported it with words alone. When the war in the Strait of Hormuz disrupted the region, Kurdistan contributed to Iraq’s oil exports. When Iraqi citizens outside the Region needed electricity, we supplied it, even as Kurdistan itself was still in need. That is what partnership looks like. That is what building Iraqi state institutions means in practice. Because we understand what strong institutions mean to the ordinary citizen: justice, stability, and a future built on talent, not on connections.

And we have done all of this while under attack. The Kurdistan Region has faced an intensive campaign of terrorism, more than one thousand drones and missiles aimed at our infrastructure, our economy, and our progress. Their goal was to stop Kurdistan in its tracks. They failed. We remained resilient. We remained patient.

And we kept working with our partners in Baghdad for the good of all Iraq. We confronted ISIS and defeated it by standing together with our partners and allies. We will confront this threat the same way, and we will defeat it the same way.

So, I want you to carry this truth with you: a strong Iraq necessitates a strong Kurdistan. A strong Kurdistan brings peace and prosperity to this entire region. And a strong Kurdistan needs unity. That is the guiding principle of President Masoud Barzani. That was the principle of our founding father, Mustafa Barzani, whose name stands on the founding building of this campus. And that is the principle we carry forward, every day, without exception.

We were pioneers in this region in sharing power. We chose partnership when others chose domination. We will keep advocating for it, in Erbil, in Baghdad, and everywhere our voice reaches. And you? You have been living that principle for four years. Every group project with a classmate from another city. Every late night in the library beside someone whose story is different from yours. You are the living argument that this works.

Now let me talk about the university you are leaving, and where it is going.

AUK has been recognized for what it is good at. The first university in Iraq to obtain Candidacy with a U.S. institutional accreditor, and first in Iraq for U.S. Nursing program level accreditation. Rigorous assessment and evaluation that holds us to international standards. Cutting-edge facilities. A university that runs on systems, not on individuals, sustainable, institutionalized, built to last. That was the work of the first decade. And I am proud of it.

But I am not satisfied by it. Because being good at something is not the same as being good for something. So here is the mission for the

next decade: From Excellence to Impact. We will no longer measure ourselves only by our standards. We will measure ourselves by the difference we make, to the prosperity of this region, to the strength of its institutions, and to the lives of its people. AUK will be a model, as it already is for so many other initiatives. And by 2035, our vision is simple and bold: AUK will be the first choice students turn to.

And impact starts on this ground. Earlier today, I inaugurated the new Men’s Residence Hall, the first building in all of Iraq to earn LEED Gold certification. For those who know what LEED Gold demands, you understand how big that is. Energy. Water. Materials. The health of the people inside. The highest international standard, built here, in Duhok. It will be a model for the rest of the country.

As Chairman and as Prime Minister, I am committed to a sustainable environment, and I want AUK graduates to be the ones who build it.

Now, graduates, let me be honest with you. Our mission for Kurdistan is ambitious. Our mission for AUK is ambitious. And the challenges are high. Nobody is going to hand us this future. We will have to build it, with commitment, and with resilience. But here is what I know: you already have both. You did not get to this stage by accident. You got here by showing up when it was hard, by pushing through when it was easier to quit. That is exactly what Kurdistan needs now. And when Kurdistan prospers, Iraq prospers. When Iraq prospers, Kurdistan prospers. These are not two futures. They are one, and you are its builders.

So here is what I ask of you. Hold the highest ethical standards, even when no one is watching. Remember your home and your identity, wherever in the world your path takes you. Give back to the community that invested in you, because someone believed in you before you believed in yourself. Respect and love this land and this planet. And live the principles of democracy, justice, and equality, first in your own life, then in the society you help build.

Do not wait for permission to lead. Do not wait for someone else to fix what you can fix. Do not let anyone, not the doubters, not the cynics, not even your own fears, tell you that this region cannot rise. It can. It will. And it will be because of people like you.

You came here to learn what you are good at. You leave here to show the world what you are good for.

Congratulations, Class of 2026. Go and make us proud.