During the meeting with Barzani, Ambassador Khalid Ahmed al-Mansour “reiterated the importance of Bahrain’s relationship with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and referred to ongoing efforts to open a representative office in Erbil,” said a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency.
The meeting between Barzani and Mansour in Erbil discussed bilateral ties and regional developments.
“Both sides affirmed their commitment to strengthening ties and increasing cooperation, particularly in the fields of economy and trade, and agreed to benefit from each other’s experiences,” the statement added.
Baghdad in recent years has strengthened its once tense relations with Manama.
Iraq’s ties with Gulf states deteriorated after the 2011 Arab Spring when Shiite figures in Iraq backed protesters in Bahrain, a country with a large and restive population of Shiite Muslims ruled by a Sunni minority royal family.
A diplomatic spat between their foreign ministries resurfaced tensions in 2019. In June of that year, protesters stormed the Bahraini embassy in Baghdad, angry over Manama’s decision to host the “Peace for Prosperity” conference, where Jared Kushner, son-in-law and senior advisor to United States President Donald Trump, proposed an Israel-Palestine peace plan.
Bahrain maintains an embassy in Baghdad and a consulate general in the holy Shiite city of Najaf.