Cultural embassy complex to be established in Sulaimani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A cultural embassy complex is set to be established in Sulaimani to strengthen cultural diplomacy in the Kurdistan Region, the city’s top cultural official announced on Thursday, adding the facility will host offices for diplomatic missions currently operating in Erbil.

The proposal has already been submitted to and approved by the Sulaimani Municipal Council, Sulaimani’s Director General of Culture and Arts, Muhsin Adib, told Rudaw.

“This project will carry diplomatic, political, cultural, and economic significance for Sulaimani,” Adib said, adding that the complex will include offices for all consulates active in the Kurdistan Region.

Adib added that a cultural museum will also be built within the complex “so that every country can showcase a corner of its own culture.”

“The goal is to invest in the cultural sector,” he explained. “Every consulate has two main sections, commercial and cultural. In many countries around the world, consulates establish cultural corners in cities with a distinct cultural identity.”

He underscored Sulaimani’s role in cultural diplomacy, describing it as the Kurdistan Region’s “Capital of Culture.”

“Over the past four years, whenever I met with consuls or ambassadors, I asked them to open cultural corners in Sulaimani,” the official said. “They have shown varying degrees of readiness, and through this initiative we aim to facilitate that process.”

The project, he added, will also serve to strengthen the Kurdish cause and enhance the Kurdistan Region’s international standing.

“In Erbil, the capital, there are around 32 consulates, which has reinforced its political position,” Adib said. “If we also invest in the cultural sphere and enable a presence in Sulaimani, it will further strengthen the diplomatic and political position of the Kurdistan Region as a whole.”

According to Adib, the draft proposal has been forwarded to the municipality’s master plan department for land allocation. The complex could be developed through private investment or funded through a special allocation in the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) upcoming 10th cabinet, he said.

The project will also require approval from the Kurdistan Region’s Council of Ministers and the Department of Foreign Relations. “I am confident they will provide the necessary support, as the project is fully legal and faces no obstacles,” Adib added.

In addition to consulate offices and the cultural museum, the complex will feature a large, modern hall.

“We plan to name it the ‘Civilizational Dialogue Building,’ designed to host major events at the level of Iraq and the Middle East,” he said.

Sulaimani served as the capital of the Baban emirate for nearly 70 years before its collapse under the Ottoman Empire in 1850. The city is widely regarded as a cradle of Kurdish literature, thought, and national struggle, and the KRG officially recognizes it as the Kurdistan Region’s “Capital of Culture.”

In 2019, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) designated Sulaimani a Creative City of Literature. Iraq’s current President Abdul Latif Rashid and former President Barham Salih are both natives of the city.