Barzani met with Prime Minister Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani on Sunday morning and then went into a meeting with the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, according to Rudaw's Halkawt Aziz in Doha.
"I had the pleasure of meeting the emir of Qatar, his highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Doha," tweeted Barzani. "We held talks on strengthening and developing our bilateral relations, in addition to issues of common interest in Iraq and the Middle East."
"During their meeting, supporting and enhancing mutual cooperation was discussed, along with several topics of mutual interest," read a statement from the emir's office.
In his meeting with the prime minister, Barzani discussed Iraq's election, and the development of relations between Qatar, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in the fields of the economy, trade, agriculture, and tourism, including starting direct flights, according to a statement from Barzani's office.
“The latest developments in confronting terrorism and ISIS [Islamic State] threats, ways and means of confronting terror and violent ideology, the situation of refugees in Syria’s al-Hol camp," were also on the agenda.
They also talked about Qatar opening an consulate in Erbil, according to the Kurdish statement.
Barzani arrived in Doha on Saturday evening and met Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. They discussed “boosting the relations of the Kurdistan Region and Iraq with Qatar, and highlighted investment opportunities for Qatari businesses in the Kurdistan Region and on to Iraq,” according to a statement from Barzani’s office.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani met the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Doha on October 17, 2021. pic.twitter.com/CJ4clBMLtc
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) October 17, 2021
According to Qatar’s foreign ministry, “The meeting reviewed aspects of the bilateral cooperation between the State of Qatar and the Republic of Iraq and ways of developing them, in addition to the latest developments in the Kurdistan Region.”
They also discussed Iraq’s elections, held a week ago. Updated preliminary results were announced late Saturday night and the electoral commission is still investigating hundreds of complaints. Several parties have claimed fraud and threatened protests.
“This visit is very important and shows the development in relations between Qatar and Kurdistan Region,” Omar al-Barzanji, Iraq’s ambassador to Qatar, told Rudaw last week.
“Qatar is waiting for real opportunity to invest in the Kurdistan Region, these have certain requirements as many businessmen ask for bank insurance in the Kurdistan Region,” he said, “and I hope that the Kurdistan Region thinks of this so it does not become an obstacle.”
Updated at 1:42 pm
.png&w=3840&q=75)
