ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – US Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman and KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani broke ground at the site of the construction of the new US consulate in Erbil on Friday morning.
Silliman hailed the construction as a “strong symbol of the continued strong relationship between the United States and the Kurdistan Region for decades in the future.”
Barzani declared the construction of the new complex as a sign to the world “that America wants to stay in Iraq, that America wants to remain in Kurdistan, that America wants to develop its ties. This aspect – for our people, for Iraq, and for America – is very important.”
The building will be the US’
largest consulate complex worldwide and one of their most modern facilities.
“We will be able to do many, many new and different things in Kurdistan and we are looking forward with great excitement to beginning the construction and then the completion as soon as possible,” said Silliman.
Erbil Governor Nawzad Hadi, US Consul Ken Gross, KRG Minister of Tourism and Municipalities Newroz Mawlood Amin, and the consulate's building operations director Aziz Younes also took part in the groundbreaking ceremony.
An aerial rendering of the new US consulate complex on the Erbil-Shaqlawa Road. Image: EYP