Saudi Arabia opens Consulate in Kurdistan Region

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia opened its Consulate in Erbil, the capital of Kurdistan Region on Monday.

During a press conference in Erbil, Abdul-Monem Mahmud, the newly-appointed Consul-General, expressed his happiness for increased bilateral relations stating, “This is going to be a good start for us."

“Saudi Arabia will strengthen its relations with Kurdistan Region, and we will not abandon the Region under any circumstances,” Mahmud told reporters.

According to a press release by the KRG Department of Foreign Relations (DFR), the Consul-General of Saudi Arabia visited DFR on Tuesday to present his credentials as his country’s first diplomat posted in Kurdistan.

DFR stated that Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) fully supports the Consul-General's mission in Erbil. “The Kurdistan Region attaches great importance to building relations with members of the international community, including the Arab nations,” the DFR press release added.

Both sides emphasized that the opening of the Saudi Consulate is an important step towards building and strengthening bilateral ties between Erbil and Riyadh, DFR explained.

Last December, Saudi Arabia officially reopened its embassy in Baghdad—the first time in 25 years—after closing it due to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

In early February, Saudi Arabia Ambassador to Iraq Samir bin Sabhan told K24, “Saudi Arabia has good relations with our brothers [Kurds] in the Kurdistan Region and we will provide economic and social support to both Kurdistan and Iraq.”

Reporting by Baxtiyar Goran

Editing by Benjamin Kweskin and Karzan Sulaivany