President Barzani’s visit to the UK 'great opportunity': British consulate

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani’s three-day trip to the UK is a “great opportunity” to discuss the strengthening of trade and economic cooperation with the host country as Britain’s newly-appointed foreign secretary has worked on these areas, the British Consulate in Erbil told Rudaw English in a written statement on Wednesday. 

Months of criticism of a number of British ministers for their missteps forced PM Boris Johnson to do a reshuffle on Wednesday. He appointed International Trade Secretary Liz Truss as a replacement for Dominic Raab. 

Truss, 46, is a graduate of economics at Oxford University and has completed a number of post-Brexit deals with countries. Her appointment coincides with Barzani’s visit to the UK. 

“Strengthening trade ties and economic cooperation is at the heart of the UK’s Integrated Review, and these are areas the new Foreign Secretary has worked on closely whilst SoS [Secretary of State] for International Trade and as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. President Nechirvan’s timely visit to London remains a great opportunity to discuss these matters in more detail,” the consulate told Rudaw English. 

President Barzani has met with UK Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace and top commanders. 

“The meeting was very warm, very positive,” UK Defense Senior Advisor Air Marshal Martin (Sammy) Sampson told Rudaw’s Alla Shally following the meeting. He added that they talked about the history of UK support to Kurds “but most importantly how can we continue that support and build on that support and do what the Kurdish region and Iraq needs for themselves.”

Barzani’s office said in a readout that the Kurdish official and Wallace discussed the latest developments in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), dangers of the group’s reemergence and both “agreed that Daesh [ISIS] is still a threat to the security and stability of Iraq, region and the world.” 

The UK has been an important ally of the Kurdistan Region for decades. Thirty years ago the United Nations Security Council declared a no-fly zone in the north of Iraq, providing a safe haven from the Baath regime that allowed Kurds to gain some autonomy. Sir John Major, then-Prime Minister of Britain, played a key role in securing the no-fly zone. An Erbil street was named after him in April.

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani congratulated Truss soon after her appointment. 

“I congratulate @trussliz on her appointment as the UK’s new Foreign Secretary. I look forward to working closely with her on shared interests, including regional stability,” he said in a tweet. 

Nadhim Zahawi, British-born Iraqi Kurd, has also been newly appointed as the UK Secretary of State for Education. PM Masrour Barzani congratulated him as well.