President Barzani’s participation at Munich Security Conference ‘important’: event chairman

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The participation of Kurdistan Region’s president at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) is “important,” the chairman of the event told Rudaw on Friday. 

Kurdistan Region’s top officials have been attending the MSC in the last few years. This year, the Region’s President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani attended the event. 

Wolfgang Ischinger, Chairman of the MSC, told Rudaw’s Alla Shally that the participation of heads of regions is important, saying the invitation of President Barzani to the event is the “right decision.”

“I believe that one can say that a good side of the Munich Security Conference could be the fact that we do not only invite the heads of countries and governments as per protocols but also those of the regions, as they are important when it comes to the global and regional policy as well as crisis policy. Therefore, I believe it has been the right decision in the last few years to invite Kurdish leadership, Barzani,” he said.

“I am glad that this year this was possible despite difficulties. I think we are doing the right work in this way. These kinds of important representatives… are not from independent countries but they are an important part of countries and it is significant to invite them and give them a voice here. This is important for us and it is part of strengthening democracy. It is also part of the collective helplessness that we have noted in our annual reports. It is a problem for all European countries that we have to overcome,” added Ischinger. 

President Barzani met with various leaders and high level officials on Friday, where he discussed security developments and further cooperation between the Kurdistan Region and other countries following his arrival in Germany late Thursday.