Kurdistan Region relations with Arab world has developed after 2003: Official

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Following the ouster of the former Iraqi regime in 2003, the Kurdistan Region’s foreign relations with the Arab world have strengthened due to Kurdish diplomatic efforts, a top government official told Kurdistan 24 on Friday.

The remarks came from Safeen Dizayee, the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations, speaking to Kurdistan 24 in Bahrain’s Manama.

The official is a member of a KRG delegation, headed by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Manama Dialogue 2021 in Bahrain.

Read More: PM Barzani to attend IISS Manama Dialogue 2021

On the sidelines of the three-day security conference that runs from Friday until Sunday, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani is scheduled to meet with a wide variety of top European, regional, and American officials.

The Kurdistan Region’s diplomatic efforts in developing ties with Arab countries in the Middle East have brought the two sides “closer” since 2003, Dizayee said.

The official said that six Arab countries currently have consular offices in the autonomous Kurdistan Region, with intentions to increase that number.

Before 2003, the Arab world had a “negative impression” of the Kurdish cause and people, accusing them of “dividing Iraq” and “being a second Israel,” he explained.

The Kurdistan Region looks to strengthen cultural and trade ties with Arab nations, Dizayee added.