KRG to ‘restructure’ its Department of Foreign Relations, says top diplomat

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is currently in the process of “restructuring” its Department of Foreign Relations, the head of the government office told Kurdistan 24 on Tuesday.

“In order a be a strong center both domestically and abroad to build and expand relations, we are currently restructuring and expanding the Department,” Safeen Dizayee, the head of the office told Kurdistan 24 in Washington, DC, where he is currently on an official week-long visit.

Dizayee did not elaborate further details on the restructuring process.

The chief diplomat expressed the semiautonomous region’s ambitions to open up new representations abroad, where it currently has 14 diplomatic missions.

Qatar and Azerbaijan are the two latest countries that have officially expressed the intent to inaugurate their consulates general in the Kurdistan Region, Dizayee said.

“The Qatari Consul General will soon inaugurate in Erbil,” he said.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Monday appointed Treefa Aziz as the new KRG envoy to the US, replacing Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman who had served in the role for eight years.

Read More: PM Masrour Barzani appoints new envoy to US

Established in 2006, the Department is mandated to “promote the interests of the Kurdistan Region and its people in regard to relations with the international community,” according to the official KRG website.

Forty-two diplomatic representations and international organizations operate in the Kurdistan Region, including the US, the UK, the EU, and a number of African countries, according to the DFR.