Biden accepts President Barzani's invitation to visit Kurdistan

DAVOS, Switzerland — Kurdish President Masoud Barzani issued an invitation to the outgoing American Vice President Joe Biden to visit Kurdistan Region during their meeting in Davos. Biden accepted the invitation, according to a statement from the Kurdish presidency.

 

The statement released on Wednesday described Biden as “a friend of the Kurdistan nation.”

 

"President Barzani invited the Vice President as a friend of the Kurdistan nation to visit the Kurdistan Region, and the Vice-President on his part accepted the invitation,” reads the Kurdish language statement by Barzani’s office. 

 

Biden emphasized 18 years of friendship between him and Barzani, commended the victories of the Kurdish Peshmerga, and expressed appreciation for the cooperation between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces in the ongoing military operation in Mosul, the statement explained.

 

"[Biden] hoped that the new American administration will continue the friendship and support for the Kurdistan nation.”

 

The vice president’s office has not released a statement following the Tuesday meeting between the two on the sidelines of the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland.

 

Barzani is in Davos to speak on a panel called ‘Syria and Iraq: Ending the Conflict,’ which is scheduled to take place on January 20. Other panelists include the Special UN Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, Mehmet Simsek, Mina Al-Oraibi, a columnist for the pan-Arab Ashraq Al-Aswat newspaper, and the Chief Executive Officer of Crescent Petroleum, Majid Jafar.

 

Davos is one the most renowned conferences for international economics, business and politics. KRG officials have recently emphasized the importance for the region to grow its private sector.

 

Barzani has twice previously attended Davos, in 2013 and 2014. This year the WEF is being attended by 3,000 of the world’s most important business, political, and cultural leaders.

President Masoud Barzani and Vice President Joe Biden met on Tuesday on the sidelines of the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland. Photo: Kurdistan presidency