As we come to the end of September, all eyes are on the elections to the Iraqi parliament on October 10. Political parties and independent candidates are campaigning across the country, including the Kurdistan Region, for the 329 seats in the House of Representatives in Baghdad.

 

In the Kurdistan Region, campaigning is in full throttle. The Kurdistan Democratic Party is running in the elections by itself, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Change Movement have formed a coalition. Other smaller parties and individuals are also running.

On the international front, President Nechirvan Barzani made an official visit to the United Kingdom and was received by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the foreign and defense secretaries, as well as the Speaker of the House of Lords. The President also visited Sandringham military academy, where he met female Peshmerga officers who are training there.

Here in Washington, we were delighted to welcome a delegation from the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs that took part in a National Defense University program.

Serbest Lazgin, Deputy Minister of Peshmerga Affairs, and two senior ministry officials were part of an Iraqi delegation that included military and civilian representatives from various ministries and security agencies. 

In Erbil, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and US Consul General Robert Palladino took part in a ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the opening of the American consulate and the near-completion of a new consulate building. 

Prime Minister Barzani spoke of the deep ties between the Kurdistan Region and the United States, saying, ‘ The Kurdistan Region is better and stronger through your work and your presence.’ He added, ‘We are bound together by shared values and by the will to stand together to defend those values.’

Mr. Palladino spoke of the many projects that the United States has supported in Kurdistan and Iraq and noted that the new building will be the largest US consulate in the world. He said, ‘The United States’ commitment to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq is rock-solid. Our commitment is long-term, and our future looks bright. The United States will remain a reliable partner of the Kurdistan region and Iraq.’

The Kurdistan Region Presidency has published A Kurdistan for All: Embracing Faith and Diversity. The book portrays the Kurdistan Region's culture of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. It outlines how people of various faiths have lived side by side in Kurdistan Region, despite enduring decades of turmoil. The book can be downloaded using a link in the newsletter below.

On September 8, Mar Awa Royel, the Bishop presiding over the Diocese of California, was elected the Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East by the church’s synod in Erbil. The KRG Representation in the United States joins others in congratulating His Holiness and wishing him success in his new responsibilities.

The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) announced $250 million in financing to expand the Khor Mor gas plant in Kurdistan, the largest financing by the DFC in Iraq. The decision by the DFC is welcome since it will provide financial support to Pearl Petroleum, a consortium led by Dana Gas and Crescent Petroleum of the United Arab Emirates, to increase gas production capacity by 50% to 690 million standard cubic feet a day. The gas will help meet demand for clean natural gas for electricity and industry in the Kurdistan Region.

Representative to the United States

Kurdistan Regional Government

This month, the Kurdistan in America podcast is honored to have Dr. Matthew Zais as its guest. Matt is the former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of International Affairs at the US Department of Energy. Currently, he serves as the Vice President of Government Relations at HKN Energy, which has invested in Kurdistan’s oil sector. Matt also served as Iraq Director at the Trump White House National Security Council for two years and the US military for over two decades as a career US Army officer.

Matt shares his insight on the Kurdistan Region’s oil and gas industry as a former US government official and now working in the private sector. He also sheds light on his encounters in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region while serving in the US Army.

Prime Minister Masrour Barzani spoke of the deep ties between the Kurdistan Region and the United States on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the opening of the American Consulate in Erbil and the completion of the initial construction of the consulate's new compound. He said, ‘We are bound together by shared values and by the will to stand together to defend those values.’

US Consul General Robert Palladino delivered remarks at a ceremony to mark an architectural milestone in the construction of a new consulate in Erbil. Mr Palladino noted that the building will be the largest American consulate in the world. He said, ‘The United States’ commitment to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq is rock-solid. Our commitment is long-term and our future looks bright.’