On Tuesday, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Interior Reber Ahmed arrived in Washington for an official visit aiming to strengthen cooperation and advance shared interests between the KRG, Iraq, and the United States.

The KRG representation in the U.S. said that Minister Ahmed and KRG Representative to the United States Treefa Aziz met with professional staff from more than 15 offices of the Senate Armed Services Committee to discuss regional stability, counterterrorism, and the United States’ role in advancing peace and security.

Minister Ahmed also met with U.S. Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks to discuss regional developments and opportunities for continued cooperation between the Kurdistan Region and United States.

On February 12, Minister Ahmed will talk at the Hudson Institute on the United States’ partnership with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where he will discuss the future of the U.S.-KRG partnership and the most significant opportunities for this partnership.

“Kurdish leaders across the political spectrum are increasingly disappointed and concerned about a regional trend toward centralisation in the Middle East, at the expense of autonomy for communities such as the Kurds, a trend supported by the United States,” Kamaran Palani, Principal Investigator of the Iraq PeaceRep program at the LSE Middle East Center, told Kurdistan Chronicle. “They observe developments in Syria and fear that similar dynamics could unfold in Iraq. At the same time, the threat of violent extremism is once again on the rise across the region.

“In this context, such visits are crucial for gaining a close and informed understanding of U.S. policies in the Middle East. Kurdistan is not a state; therefore, any shift in U.S. policy affects not only its security, but its very existence as a political entity.”