Erbil Opens First Kurdistan Region-France Health Forum

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The first Kurdistan Region-France Health Forum opened in Erbil on Thursday, with the aim of expanding medical cooperation, transferring knowledge and modern technology, and strengthening the Region’s health care infrastructure.

The forum was launched on the initiative of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Health, in coordination with the French Consulate in Erbil and the French Healthcare Association.

Senior KRG officials, representatives of diplomatic and consular bodies, doctors, health specialists, and representatives of international medical equipment and service companies attended the opening ceremony.

Among the officials present were Dr. Saman Barzinji, Kurdistan Region’s health minister, Erbil Governor Omed Xoshnaw, and Safin Dizayee, head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations.

Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, adviser to the Council of Ministers on foreign affairs and climate change, and Sarwar Hawari, deputy minister of trade, also took part, along with the head of the French Healthcare Association and members of diplomatic and consular delegations.

The main goal of the forum is to create a basis for specialized cooperation between health institutions in the Kurdistan Region and French medical centers.

Its central themes include reviewing the latest scientific and medical advances, exchanging experience between specialists from both sides, and drawing on French technologies and advanced treatment models.

The program also focuses on improving the quality of medical services, strengthening health infrastructure, and expanding the training of the health workforce.

Roundtables and scientific seminars are meant to provide an opportunity to examine ways of improving the performance of medical centers and raising the specialized capacity of medical staff.

Kurdistan-France relations span several decades, and over time have grown from humanitarian and political support into diplomatic, security, economic, educational, and cultural cooperation.

In 1991, after the Kurdish uprising against Saddam Hussein’s regime and the humanitarian crisis that followed, France took part in international efforts to protect civilians.

Danielle Mitterrand, wife of then-French President François Mitterrand, was a well-known supporter of Kurdish rights and attended the opening of the first Kurdistan Parliament in 1992.

France opened its consulate in Erbil in 2008. In 2010, President Masoud Barzani and Bernard Kouchner, then France’s foreign minister, signed a declaration aimed at strengthening political, economic, trade, and cultural cooperation.

From 2014, during the fight against the terrorist group ISIS, security cooperation between the two sides gained greater importance.

As part of the international coalition against ISIS, France provided military assistance and training to the Peshmerga.

In the following years, cooperation also extended to education, investment, urban development, and the preservation of cultural heritage.

The forum makes health care one of the areas of cooperation between Kurdistan Region institutions and French organizations.

Direct contact between specialists, the exchange of medical knowledge, and the possible use of modern technologies are among the avenues that could help raise the capacity of Kurdistan Region’s medical centers.