US supports KRG’s reform program, says envoy

“We support a resilient Iraqi Kurdistan Region that is a strong partner with and anchored within federal Iraq,” the diplomat added.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The United States continues to support the implementation of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s economic reform program as well as the Iraqi government’s agenda, the country’s envoy in the Kurdish region said on Tuesday.

The remarks by the US Consul General to Erbil, Irvin Hicks Jr., came during a speech he delivered at an event commemorating five years of housing interventions for the displaced population in Iraq with the International Migration Agency (IOM) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).  

“We continue to support the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) implementation of an economic reform agenda that fosters a diversified and vibrant private sector,” the diplomat said at the Catholic University in Erbil, known as CUE.

The KRG ninth cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, has undertaken an extensive economic reform agenda since July 2019 to reduce dependence on the oil sector and to bolster the private sector and employment for the youth. 

“We support a resilient Iraqi Kurdistan Region that is a strong partner with and anchored within federal Iraq,” the diplomat added.

Sinjar Agreement

Aimed at normalizing the administrative and humanitarian situation in the Yezidi-majority town of Sinjar, both Baghdad and Erbil inked a plan known as the Sinjar Agreement of 2020.

Three years later, the agreement has not been implemented due to the ongoing presence of militia forces that operate outside the state security apparatus, hindering the return of Yezidi internally displaced people to their homes. 

“If we are to support the return of IDPs and free economic development across the region, the militias must disband and withdraw,” he said, adding the Iraqi government must “step up and fulfill its responsibility” to provide security for all.

He also said Erbil and Baghdad must implement the Sinjar Agreement and provide security for the inhabitants of the Nineveh province.