PM Barzani arrived in Paris on Wednesday, leading a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation which was previously in Dubai where they attended the World Government Summit.
The delegation was received by Macron at the Elysee Palace on Thursday.
“Together we helped safeguard the world from ISIS,” said Barzani in a tweet, referring to the Islamic State (ISIS). “ Now we’re building trade and investment ties to sustain our peoples.”
“France is an ally with a common vision; enhancing our region and the security of Europe,” he added.
The Kurdistan Region and France enjoy good ties. Macron landed in Erbil in August 2021, following a trip to Baghdad where he attended a regional summit that brought nine Middle Eastern countries together, hosted in Iraq with the help of Paris.
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, including in supplying arms and training to the Kurdish forces.
