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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Yann Braem, French Consul General in Erbil, told Rudaw on Friday that the inauguration of Peshmerga Alley in a Paris park is a "great source of pride," adding that France seeks better relations with the Kurdistan Region.
"[I]t's a source of great pride for us to see that the municipality of Paris has decided to name a public space after the name of Peshmerga. We have been discussing this with the Paris municipality and the government of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for several months, and all partners were fully involved in this project. So it's a source of pride to see this project coming to a very nice result with this ceremony, which was really amazing," Braem said.
Peshmerga Alley, a tribute to the Kurdish role in the war against the Islamic State (ISIS), was inaugurated in Paris on Friday in the presence of Parisian Mayor Anne Hidalgo and President Masoud Barzani.
Naming the route in Paris’ Andre Citroen Park after the Peshmerga is a tribute to "all what the Kurdish people and Peshmerga did for us, for our freedom, for peace," in the fight against ISIS, Hidalgo said at the inauguration.
"[There was] also a lot of gratitude. I think that all the participants, who have been there, from the French side have really underlined the gratitude of the French people toward the Peshmerga, because they fought alongside our forces in the fight [against] Daesh [ISIS]. They have been contributing to our security, to the security of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, [and] of all its communities. This gesture from the Paris municipality and the mayor is honoring the sacrifice," the French consul general noted.
The following is the full transcript of Braem's interview with Rudaw's Rebwar Ali:
Rudaw: This event was an exciting and historic one for the people of Kurdistan. How was it for you as the consul general of France in the Kurdistan Region?
Yann Braem: Of course, it's a source of great pride for us to see that the municipality of Paris has decided to name a public space after the name of Peshmerga. We have been discussing this with the Paris municipality and the government of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for several months, and all partners were fully involved in this project. So it's a source of pride to see this project coming to a very nice result with this ceremony, which was really amazing
[There was] also a lot of gratitude. I think that all the participants, who have been there, from the French side have really underlined the gratitude of the French people toward the Peshmerga, because they fought alongside our forces in the fight [against] Daesh. They have been contributing to our security, to the security of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, [and] of all its communities. This gesture from the Paris municipality and the mayor is honoring the sacrifice.
And with that sacrifice comes the feeling of brotherhood. I can say since I arrived here two years ago, there is a feeling of being brothers-in-arms in this common fight against terrorism and Daesh. So, [there is] a lot of emotions, a lot of satisfaction also from the political side because President Barzani was present during the ceremony. He attended, participated fully, and was fully engaged in the process.
He was also received by the Minister of European and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noel Barrot, and they had an important discussion because we do consider and value the advices, opinions, and analyses of President Masoud Barzani as one of our closest partners.
In the speeches of President Barzani and French officials, there was hope for further development of Kurdistan Region's relations with France. What is new in the development of these relations?
We are already doing a lot of things. We are consolidating all what we have built in the last years. I can tell you, for instance, that one of the women Peshmerga who was at the ceremony is now learning French at the French Institute. We have launched a project so that Peshmerga learn French and potentially could go to French schools to study in military French schools.
This is one of our projects. We are relaunching our projects in archaeology, because the Kurdistan region is a place where you have many archaeological artefacts, sites, so we are really willing to push for this cooperation to increase. We still have our two French schools in Sulaimani and in Erbil, where they are following the French program, and we are willing to continue to support them to make sure that they have more students, because students then can go study in France, they can go study all over the Middle East, or in Kurdistan region of Iraq.
We have projects in Amedi, we have projects in hopefully Soran in the coming month, we hope so. We are training civil security people from the JCCC [Joint Crisis Coordination Center], so we have launched already a lot of projects. We want to consolidate them and to use them to go further. And to go further for what? For our political relations, for the relationships between our people, but also for the relationships between our business communities. You may have seen that we have been quite active in this field with several business forums that were organized in Paris those last months, and we are really willing to launch new projects in the field of agriculture, in the field of water, in any field that could be available and useful for the Kurdistan economy and for, of course, our business people as well.
What is behind France's and its people's unwavering support for the Kurdistan Region?
There is history, and history is very important. Even in the 70s, in the 60s, in the 80s, a lot of travelers came to Kurdistan, humanitarian actors, journalists, writers. And when the Anfal campaign started, some very important people in France were worried and really wanted to do something about this horrific terror campaign against the Kurdish people. And Daniel Mitterrand was mobilized. You have seen on the pictures that Kendal Nezan was also present. Kendal Nezan has played an instrumental role in this mobilization. And the president, President Mitterrand, was also very active in making sure that the killings of Kurdish people stopped in the 90s.
And it started before, but then it has completely changed the shape of our relationship. And of course, with the establishment of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, we were among the first to establish a consulate general. We have been working with academics, working to train the youth, to train the civil society, to train also Peshmergas and civil servants.
We are really willing to make sure that the Kurdistan region is progressing, advancing in all its fields, and we stand ready to accompany the Kurdistan Region in this endeavor. So it's a mix of, I would say, human bonds between people, a mix of political bonds as well, and also a very strong commitment to the fight against terrorism. As I have said, we have been fighting side by side, shoulder by shoulder, for a threat that was against all of us. And it has been also a cornerstone of our cooperation and relationship.
Are French companies willing to work in the Kurdistan Region?
Yes, sure. We already have numerous companies. Dana has a factory close to Erbil, there is Carrefour. You know, of course, Carrefour brand, which is distributing French brands. We have a lot of other companies like Lafarge. So big companies which have been investing in Kurdistan, which are also investing in Iraq as such. And one of my jobs is to make sure that more people are coming to facilitate the business relations between business people. Because I'm representing the state, so I'm not here to plan for economic projects.
It has to be between business people, but we have good prospects for several projects in the field of agriculture, as I said, in the field of tourism even, and in the field of water management, and even in the construction sector with several companies which are intervening in the construction business.
The KRG's representative to France said that President Emmanuel Macron will visit Iraq and the Kurdistan Region before the end of this year. What does President Macron think about France's relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region?
The president is really focusing a lot of his attention on Iraq and on Kurdistan. In his analysis, Iraq has a central role to play for the stability of the entire region, and it is at the crossroads of many geopolitical stakes. That's why he has been instrumental in shaping and co-organizing with the Iraqi authorities the Baghdad Conference, which gathered in Baghdad and Amman after, to make sure that we are contributing to a regional dialogue which is conducive to peace and conducive to stability, more than facing difficulties and tensions.
Our analysis is that Iraq as a whole is progressing towards stability, and that there is a need to really shift our approach and to make sure that we are contributing to the political dialogue between the countries which are involved here and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The political contacts that we have at the highest level, you saw that President Nechirvan Barzani visited Paris earlier this year. The Minister of Foreign Affairs came to Erbil after his sojourn in Baghdad in April.
So we are in a constant process of consultation with the Kurdistan authorities and the Kurdistan political leaders in the framework of our approach towards Iraq.
We are in constant dialogue with Kurdistan’s political leadership as part of our broader strategy toward Iraq.
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