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French President Emmanuel Macron (right) receiving Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani (right) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on November 3, 2023. Photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - French President Emmanuel Macron told Rudaw on Friday that his meeting with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani is “very important” for the stability of Iraq, with Paris being a crucial ally of Baghdad and Erbil.
“This is a very important meeting because you know how attached we are to the stability and sovereignty of Iraq,” Macron told Rudaw’s Alla Shally before meeting Barzani at the Elysee Palace.
Macron’s meeting with Barzani will revolve around the bilateral relations between France and both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Both leaders will also explore options of advancing mutual cooperation and will discuss the situation in Iraq and the wider region, according to the Kurdistan Region’s Presidency.
President Barzani said he was delighted to meet with the French President, adding that the two discussed further enhancing Paris-Erbil ties.
“The historic bonds between the Kurdistan Region and France run deep, a testament to our shared commitment to peace, stability and prosperity,” wrote President Barzani on X (formerly Twitter).
Delighted to meet my dear friend, President @EmmanuelMacron in Paris.
— Nechirvan Barzani (@IKRPresident) November 3, 2023
We discussed further strengthening ties between Iraq, Kurdistan Region, and France, as well as the ongoing developments in Iraq and beyond.
The historic bonds between the Kurdistan Region and France run… pic.twitter.com/D3JhIBdkDy
France and Iraq share strong ties. The countries have made a number of strategic agreements early this year, meant to boost cooperation. The Iraqi government and France’s TotalEnergies also signed an energy deal.
On Thursday, Iraqi Ambassador to France Wadih Batti hailed the “very strong and solid relations” between Baghdad and Paris, saying “it is the golden age in Iraqi-French ties.”
A core member of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS), France has trained about 10,000 Iraqi soldiers, including Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The country’s armed forces continue to play a key role in the anti-ISIS fight through Operation Chammal.
The relationship between the Kurds and France goes back to the 1980s. Danielle Mitterrand, first lady of France from 1981 to 1995, advocated for Kurds suffering under the regime of Saddam Hussein and was instrumental in campaigning for the no-fly zone that allowed the Kurdistan Region to develop its current autonomy. She was affectionately known as the “Mother of Kurds”, and inaugurated the first Kurdish parliament in 1992.
France was one of the first countries to open a consulate in the Kurdish capital of Erbil after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003 and played a critical role in helping Kurds both in Iraq and in Syria in the war against ISIS.
When Kurds in the Kurdistan Region held an independence referendum in 2017, Baghdad imposed a flight ban on the Region for months. A historic visit by President Barzani, then prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), to France helped reconnect the Kurdistan Region to the world.
Updated at 2:53PM with President Barzani's post following the meeting
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