President Barzani, outgoing French envoy discuss bilateral relations

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Sunday discussed the bilateral relations between Paris and Erbil with outgoing French Consul General Olivier Decottignies in Erbil, according to a statement.

Decottignies visited President Barzani on the occasion of concluding his diplomatic assignment in the Kurdistan Region, a statement from the President’s office read.

Barzani extended his gratitude to the French envoy for his efforts to “promote his country’s relations with the Kurdistan Region,” per the release.

Decottignies, in turn, thanked the Kurdistan Region’s authorities and relevant institutions for supporting his diplomatic mission.

The French diplomat was inaugurated in August 2019, replacing his predecessor Dominique Mas.

Prior to joining the French consulate in Erbil, Mr. Decottignies had served at the French Embassy in Iran and at the European country’s foreign ministry.

Erbil and Paris share close economic, cultural, and political ties. The two capitals are sister cities.

As an integral part of the US-led coalition against ISIS, France has provided Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga forces with training as well as air support in the Kurdish forces’ fight against the terror group between 2014 and 2017.

Two French presidents, including incumbent President Emmanuel Macron and his predecessor François Hollande, have visited the Kurdistan Region over the past years.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani visited Paris in February in 2023 and met with the country’s top officials in a bid to further strengthen the bilateral ties, the Region’s officials said at the time.

France is praised by Kurdish officials regularly for the effective role it played in lifting “the diplomatic embargo” imposed by Baghdad on Erbil following the Kurdistan Region’s 2017 independence referendum, in which an overwhelming 90-plus percent voted in favor of secession.

Iraqi authorities sealed off the Region’s airspace to all international flights as a punitive measure after the referendum, followed by a military offensive of the Iraqi forces on the disputed territories between Erbil and Baghdad.