On Monday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani visited Pope Leo XIV in Vatican City and invited him to visit Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

“I reaffirmed that Christians and all religious communities are not only an integral part of the Kurdistan Region’s history and identity, but continue to shape its future,” President Nechirvan Barzani said in a post on X.

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“I reiterated to His Holiness that protecting their rights, dignity, and peaceful presence in their ancestral homeland will always remain our duty.”

President Nechirvan Barzani reiterated to Pope Leo XIV “that protecting their rights, dignity, and peaceful presence in their ancestral homeland will always remain our duty.

“I expressed Iraq’s and the Kurdistan Region’s deep appreciation for the Vatican’s moral leadership and its important role in promoting dialogue and coexistence across the world,” he added.

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President Nechirvan Barzani also recalled Pope Francis’ historic visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in 2021, and extended an invitation for Pope Leo XIV to visit Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.