ERBIL (Kurdistan Chronicle) — After jointly safeguarding the world from the Islamic State (IS), the Kurdistan Region and France are now building trade and investment ties to sustain their peoples, said Prime Minister Masrour Barzani after an official meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.
PM Barzani arrived in Paris on Wednesday evening after concluding a visit to Dubai where he, accompanied by a delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), attended the 2023 World Governments Summit.
“France is an ally with a common vision; enhancing our region and the security of Europe,” the prime minister of Kurdistan Region added, thanking Paris for its longstanding partnership with Erbil and expressing desire to explore additional areas of potential cooperation.
The two leaders also discussed KRG’s ongoing reform plans and its ambition to diversify its economy away from oil through developing other potential revenue sources such as agriculture and tourism.
Pleased to see President @EmmanuelMacron in the Élysée today.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) February 16, 2023
Together we helped safeguard the world from ISIS. Now we’re building trade and investment ties to sustain our peoples.
France is an ally with a common vision; enhancing our region and the security of Europe -mb. pic.twitter.com/qytdX7kBMc
The relations between Erbil and Baghdad and their prolonged disputes were also on the agenda of the meeting.
According to an official statement by the KRG, the pair agreed on the importance of finding a comprehensive and constitutional solution to their differences.
Kurdistan and France enjoy close ties which are further strengthened by their partnership in the war against the Islamic State (IS) since 2014.
In August 2021, Macron visited Erbil and met with top Kurdish officials after attending the Baghdad Conference for Development and Cooperation in Baghdad.
He later visited Mosul to express solidarity with the survivors of IS atrocities, especially the Christian community of the Mosul Plains.
