The head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations (DFR), Falah Mustafa, received India’s Consul General Deepak Miglani on Tuesday, offering his full support to his mission and calling on India to provide military and humanitarian support to the Kurdistan Region.
“Minister Falah Mustafa warmly welcomed Consul General Miglani and congratulated him on his new post, assuring him of the KRG’s full support for his mission in Kurdistan,” reads a statement issued by the DFR.
“The Minister briefed the Consul General on the role of Peshmerga in the global campaign against ISIS and KRG’s humanitarian efforts. He called for India’s military and humanitarian support to the Kurdistan Region.”
In return, India’s first diplomat to the Region expressed his country’s solidarity with Kurdistan in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). The two discussed establishing a long-term partnership between the KRG and India.
“Consul General Miglani stated that he was very pleased to have the opportunity to work in the Kurdistan Region, commended the KRG on its achievements, and expressed his country’s solidarity with the Kurdistan Region in fighting against the ISIS terrorists. Both sides spoke in detail of areas of potential cooperation, expressing the desire of their governments to lay down a strong foundation for establishing a long-lasting partnership that could benefit the interests of both sides,” the DFR’s statement added.
The decision of the government of India to open a consulate in Erbil was announced in May, during a visit of India’s Ambassador to Iraq, George Raju, to the Kurdistan Region’s capital. “India realizes the stability and prosperity of the Kurdistan Region and desires to be a reliable partner for the people and leadership of the Kurdistan Region,” Raju said in May, according to the DFR statement.
More than 20 countries have opened consulates in Erbil. In addition, several trade offices, international organization posts, aid agency representations, and honorary consulates have been opened in Erbil.
