The people and governments of the Kurdistan Region and France have enjoyed a long, prosperous, and strong relationship over many decades.

The French-Kurdish relationship can be divided into three stages. The first stage started after the division of greater Kurdistan into four parts and continued to the 1990s. During this time, the relationships between French and Kurdish leaders and people were primarily of an individual and personal nature.

The second stage began thereafter with the formation of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and extended to 2003, during which time the relationships evolved in the domains of human security and welfare and economic development. Kurdistan faced major challenges during this period as it had no internationally recognized frameworks for it to interact with the world and suffered from the imposition of two periods of economic sanctions. 

The last stage runs began in 2003, after which the KRG and France have an official and internationally recognized relationship, concretized after the Kurdistan Region was recognized as a federal entity in the new constitution of Iraq adopted in September 2005. 

France is a significant and strategic country playing a key role in decision making and setting international policy; thus, having a good relationship with France is in the interest and advantage of the Kurdistan Region.

France has assisted the Kurds and the region throughout history, especially during the hardest and the most difficult times. In 1991, it was France that exhorted the United Nations to adopt Security Council Resolution 688 to protect the people in Iraqi Kurdistan. Again, in 2014, when ISIS launched its attacks on the region, France was the first country to provide practical support to the peshmerga, with then French president Francois Hollande visiting Erbil at a time when ISIS was only a few kilometers outside the city. In addition, after the 2017 Iraqi-Kurdish conflict, or Kirkuk crisis, French president Emmanuel Macron was instrumental in lifting the political and diplomatic sanctions imposed on Kurdistan.  

Significance of Paris visit

The first official visit of KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to Paris thus marks a significant milestone in French-Kurdish relations. 

During the visit, Barzani held several important meetings, including with French president Emmanuel Macron but also with the President of the French Senate, the Mayor of Paris, and the Movement of the Enterprises of France (MEDEF), the leading organizational network of business enterprises in France. Thus, it can be said that France is the first country to have robust ties with the Kurdistan Region across all sectors and is a real friend of the region and its people. 

The official announcement describing the outcomes of Barzani’s visit was posted on the website of the Elysee Palace. It discussed the meeting between the two heads of state, highlighting the strong and friendly relationship between France and Kurdistan and the ways that the two can deepen ties while also reconfirming the significance of the Kurdistan Region’s political and security stability. The French president also praised the efficient and dynamic role that the Kurds have played, in parallel to France, in confronting terrorism. 

Barzani’s visit coincided with a delicate period for the region and the world and reflects the care that France is taking to address these challenges with all the region’s states. It was noteworthy both that Macron invited Barzani three weeks after the visit of the Iraqi Prime Minister to Paris and that he was a guest at the Elysee Palace. 

The purpose of the visit was to discuss the most recent progress made in Kurdistan and the region but also to update the French president on the latest progress in Baghdad-Erbil relations and to strengthen bilateral relations between Paris and Erbil. France realizes that the Kurdistan Region is a critical factor in Iraq, without which no positive steps can be taken. 

Kurdistan's regional role

The Kurdistan Region can serve as a role model for the whole of Iraq, as it provides security and stability for its people and is an exemplar of cultural coexistence, freedom, and human rights. Economically, the region has made a notable recovery and is advancing its development goals, especially in carrying out the reforms initiated by the KRG’s Ninth Cabinet – led and supported by Prime Minister Barzani – across various economic sectors and government institutions. These reforms have augmented Kurdistan’s role as a vital neighbor and regional partner, not least for its capacity to provide energy and food security both in the region and in the world.

The prime minister’s visit also fell within the framework of the goals that he outlined in the speech that he gave announcing the formation of his cabinet in 2019, which included strengthening Kurdistan’s diplomatic and economic relations with the world. Barzani has advanced this vision by holding many important and strategic meetings with world leaders and participating in critical international events and ceremonies and has thus expanded and consolidated the position of Kurdistan in the region and world. 

That said, there remain further critical steps to come to further strengthen existing relations and forge new relationships with other countries. 

 Ali Dolamari is the Kurdistan Regional Government’s representative to France. He holds a PHD in geopolitics at Sorbonne Paris4 university.