Kurdistan Regional Government
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Three EU Foreign Ministers impressed by social and economic progress on visit to Kurdistan

MON, 25 JUN 2012 18:04 | KRG.org

Erbil, Kurdistan Region – Iraq (KRG.org) – The foreign ministers of Sweden, Poland and Bulgaria yesterday arrived together in the Kurdistan Region where they met President Masoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani to discuss ways to strengthen cooperation and to talk about the latest political developments in Iraq and the ongoing crisis in Syria.

President Barzani welcomed the three foreign ministers, Minister Carl Bildt of Sweden, Minister Radoslaw Sikorski of Poland and Minister Nickolay Mladenov of Bulgaria, and expressed the Kurdistan Region’s desire for strong relations with the EU and its member states.

At a press conference after the meeting, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Mladenov said the three European foreign ministers were impressed by the social and economic improvements that they saw in Kurdistan, which serve as an example of how the wealth of a nation can be used properly for the benefit of the people.

“We were very much encouraged by what we heard through our meetings today and yesterday in Iraq, and hopeful that the current political disputes will be resolved based on the constitutional process that Iraq has and through the democratic process,” he said.

In the meeting before the press conference, President Barzani discussed Iraq’s current political situation with the foreign ministers, saying that the Iraqi groups are exercising their constitutional, democratic and legitimate right to address the current crisis in the country. He added that the volatile political climate in Iraq was a result of attempts at one-man rule, and a disregard for all the agreements that allowed the current government to gain power.

“In previous years the biggest threat facing Iraq was terrorism, but today the biggest threat is a return to dictatorship. Authoritarian rule and the return of dictatorship are the main reasons behind the current political crisis,” he said.

Also discussed in the meeting was the situation in Syria, with particular emphasis on the current role that the Kurdish people are playing with the Syrian Opposition. 7000-8000 Syrian refugees have arrived in the Kurdistan Region since the uprisings began and they are currently being supported by UNHCR and the KRG. The European Foreign Ministers were in Lebanon prior to arriving in Iraq and part of their trip was focused on hearing the views of Syria’s neighbours on the situation there.

Commenting on the situation there, President Barzani said: “The position of the KRG towards Syria is very clear, we are supportive of the aspirations of the Syrian people, we are supportive of a democratic alternative, and we condemn the killings that are happening in Syria. However, the future of Syria is something that will be decided by the people of Syria.”

Minister Mladenov said that the meeting was very productive, highlighting their discussion about Syria as the main focus of their trip. “We were initially in Lebanon and then we came to Baghdad and today we are in Erbil to discuss the situation in Syria and hear the views from the neighbours of Syria,” he said.

The three ministers will report on their trip to Kurdistan and Iraq and present it in a meeting to all the foreign ministers in the Council on Foreign Affairs of the European Union. They expressed their pleasure at being the first European delegation to visit the Kurdistan Region and Iraq since the signing of a partnership and cooperation agreement (PCA) between the EU and Iraq on 11 May 2012. The new agreement will allow clarification of trade agreements and facilitate discussions on a number of areas, including commercial, economic and political matters, such as countering terrorism and promoting human rights.

At the end of their visit to the Kurdistan Region, the ministers joined Prime Minister Barzani to officially open the new premises of the Polish Consulate in Erbil. Minister Sikorski said, “As the Foreign Minister of Poland, we are proud of having helped all of Iraq’s people to get rid of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, as well as our cooperation with Bulgaria in providing security in Iraq. Today we are proud that we are able to open a consulate in Erbil.”

Sweden already has an Embassy Section Office in the Kurdistan Region, and Bulgaria has expressed some interest in opening a representation as well.

The three foreign ministers were accompanied by the ambassadors of their respective countries to Iraq: Ambassador Carl Magnus Nesser of Sweden, Ambassador Stanisław Smoleń of Poland and Ambassador Valeri Ratchev of Bulgaria, as well as Ambassador Jana Hybashkova, the Head of the EU Delegation to Baghdad, and a number of other senior officials.

The KRG were also represented in the meeting by the KRG Deputy Prime Minister, Imad Ahmad; the KRG Minister for the Interior, Karim Sinjari; the KRG Minister of Natural Resources, Dr Ashti Hawrami; the KRG Minister of Higher Education, Dr Ali Saeed; the Chief of Staff to the President of the Kurdistan Region, Dr Fuad Hussein; the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa; and the Head of the KRG Board of Investment, Minister Herish Muharam.

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