Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday met with a delegation led by Germany’s Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius, who underlined that Germany will continue its military engagement in Iraq, including in the Kurdistan Region.
“I have promised that we will once again contribute significantly to the NATO Mission in Iraq,” Pistoriu told reporters, adding that Germany supports not only central Iraq, but also the autonomous Kurdistan Region, where Germany has provided support to Kurdish security forces as part of the multinational mission.
According to the Kurdistan Region presidency, President Nechirvan Barzani expressed the Kurdistan Region’s gratitude for Germany’s continued and wide-ranging support.
#Erbil, Irak. „Ein stabiler Irak ist im Interesse aller.“ ?? Soldat|Innen erhalten für ihren Einsatz große Wertschätzung und Dank von den Menschen im Zentralirak und in der Autonomen Region Kurdistan. Rund 100 #Bundeswehrangehörige dienen im Multinationalen Camp Erbil. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/Vj1t4mf5Yt
— Verteidigungsministerium (@BMVg_Bundeswehr) December 12, 2024
He also praised Germany’s role in supporting Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in the fight against ISIS, as well as its assistance with the reunification process for the peshmerga. Germany was also thanked for its assistance to minority communities such as the Yezidis.
Germany’s Ministry of Defense in a post on X said that Pistorius met with President Nechirvan Barzani to assure the region of further support. “President (Barzani) thanked the German soldiers for their efforts. The Bundeswehr (German army) advises the Kurdistan Region forces and supports the operation of the peshmerga clinic."
Moreover, Pistorius reiterated his country’s commitment to ongoing and developing assistance to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. He expressed his satisfaction with the role German forces were playing in the Kurdistan Region and stressed that they would continue to do so.
Read More: German Support for Peshmerga and Regional Security
Colonel Lars Persikowski, the outgoing commander of the German Armed Forces in Erbil, previously told Kurdistan Chronicle in an exclusive interview at the Erbil Air Base that the German army has “a very good partnership with the Kurdish forces and the German Armed Forces truly feel welcome in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
“We feel there’s a close relationship between the Kurdish people and the Germans who are here as part of the coalition forces in Iraq in the fight against ISIS,” Persikowski said.
In 2014, then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to supply Kurdish peshmerga forces with G-36 rifles and MILAN anti-tank missiles, which were effective in stopping ISIS armored vehicles.
Read More: Peshmerga Forces Strengthened with German Military Aid
“The German support to the peshmerga became most visible with the handover of the MILAN anti-tank missiles; additionally, assault rifles, like the G-36, as well as armored vehicles, like the DINGO, helped the peshmerga to successfully defeat ISIS terrorists,” Colonel Persikowski said during a handover ceremony in August.
