France’s President Macron to Visit Iraq and Kurdistan in December

October 14, 2025

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday met France’s Ambassador to Iraq Patrick Durel to discuss the visit of France’s President Emmanuel Macron to Iraq and Kurdistan in December.

According to the KRG readout, the meeting also focused on the situation in Iraq and the region, as well as resolving outstanding issues between the Kurdistan Region and the federal government.

President Macron’s last visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region was in August 2021. During this trip, he visited Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, where he was welcomed by Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani.

President Macron also traveled to Mosul, a city that had been heavily impacted by ISIS, to express France’s solidarity and support for Iraq’s recovery efforts.

Apart from a meeting with the French diplomatic corps, Prime Minister Barzani also received the UK Ambassador to Iraq Irfan Siddiq, during which they discussed last month’s trilateral agreement that resulted in the resumption of the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports halted since 2023.

The KRG readout added that the agreement should serve as a potential first step toward passing a federal oil and gas law in the next session of Iraq’s Parliament.

Ambassador Siddiq also met separately with President Barzani and discussed the relations between the UK, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region, and the status of Erbil-Baghdad relations.

They also exchanged views on the formation of the new KRG cabinet and the upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections.

They also discussed President Barzani’s recent visit to Turkey and the latest developments regarding the ongoing peace process between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish state.

Ambassador Siddiq commended President Barzani’s efforts during his visit to Turkey, which led to the reopening of Turkish airspace for flights from Sulaymaniyah, which had been halted since April 2023.