ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani met with the United Kingdom’s Senior Defense Advisor for the Middle East and North Africa on Wednesday to discuss the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), military collaboration and the need for security reform in the region.
President Barzani welcomed a delegation from the UK, led by Senior Defense Advisor Lieutenant-General Sir John Lorimer in Erbil. UK ambassador to Iraq, Stephen Hickey also attended the meeting.
Lorimer said he met with Barzani “to thank the Kurds for their help in fighting ISIS, to emphasize the importance of reforms especially in terms of security, and to address further collaboration in terms of military and education.”
Erbil-Baghdad relations and the recent passage of a contentious fiscal deficit law in Baghdad were also discussed, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Region’s Presidency.
President Barzani “expressed gratitude for the UK cooperation and support of the Kurdistan Region,” it added.
The UK is a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, and has troops across the country to train Iraqi and Kurdish security forces.
It signed a memorandum of understanding with Iraq last year, to further develop military ties between the two countries.
