Kurdistan
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani (right) receives Pope Francis at Erbil International Airport on March 7, 2021. Photo: Bilind T. Abdullah/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani is set to meet with the Head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Thursday, as part of his trip to Rome and the Vatican City which began the day before.
The meetings will discuss developing bilateral ties, increasing cooperation opportunities, and “some other matters of joint interest,” according to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
In addition to the pontiff and the premier, President Barzani will also meet with a number of Italian officials.
Pope Francis conducted a historic visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in March 2021, visiting several cities across the country, and holding mass for 10,000 people in Erbil. The Pope also met Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who rarely accepts visitors, in Najaf.
Meloni visited the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil in December, meeting with President Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. The Italian premier invited President Barzani to visit her country.
Italy and the Kurdistan Region have shared strong relations since 2003, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has a representative in the Italian capital of Rome. Former Italian PM Giuseppe Conte visited the Kurdistan Region in 2019.
Italy has been a member of the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) since 2014, and has up to 900 soldiers deployed to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, providing military advice and training to the Peshmerga forces.
The meetings will discuss developing bilateral ties, increasing cooperation opportunities, and “some other matters of joint interest,” according to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
In addition to the pontiff and the premier, President Barzani will also meet with a number of Italian officials.
Pope Francis conducted a historic visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in March 2021, visiting several cities across the country, and holding mass for 10,000 people in Erbil. The Pope also met Ayatollah Ali Sistani, who rarely accepts visitors, in Najaf.
Meloni visited the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil in December, meeting with President Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. The Italian premier invited President Barzani to visit her country.
Italy and the Kurdistan Region have shared strong relations since 2003, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has a representative in the Italian capital of Rome. Former Italian PM Giuseppe Conte visited the Kurdistan Region in 2019.
Italy has been a member of the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) since 2014, and has up to 900 soldiers deployed to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, providing military advice and training to the Peshmerga forces.
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