Estonia's Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday, meeting with Iraqi Prime Minster Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. The two discussed boosting bilateral relations between Iraq and Estonia, including in the fields of counterterrorism, economic partnership, and cybersecurity.
Pevkur then headed towards the Kurdistan Region’s capital Erbil and met with the Region's Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, discussing military cooperation between the two sides. He is also set to meet with the Region's President Nechirvan Barzani.
“[Estonia's] cooperation of the ICT department since 2014, the most successful was in Kurdistan (procurement by the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq to create the information system of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate Court),” Brita Kikas, the Estonian foreign ministry’s media advisor, wrote in an email response to Rudaw.
Kikas added that Estonia and Iraq have enjoyed good diplomatic relations for decades, stressing that although bilateral trade is not “very large” at the moment, there does appear to be a growing trend in that sector.
Estonia has been a member of the US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) since 2016. The country deployed a unit of up to 110 members to Erbil in April, responsible for manning the base defense, rapid response, and providing security for advisors during activities outside the Erbil airbase.
