Middle East
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on May 16, 2022. Photo: President Barzani's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdistan Region delegation headed by President Nechirvan Barzani visited the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday to attend the funeral of the country’s late president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, two days after the Region's premier Masrour Barzani visited Abu Dhabi to pay his respects.
The delegation, consisting of President Barzani, his deputy Mustafa Said Qadir, Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, and the Region's presidency chief of staff Fawzi Hariri, was received by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan who was named the UAE’s new president a day after his half-brother passed.
“The President offered his and the people of Kurdistan’s condolences to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the al-Nahyan family, and to the government and the people of the UAE,” a statement from President Barzani’s office read following the visit.
Sheikh Mohammed expressed his gratitude for President Barzani’s visit and commended “the bonds of friendship and brotherhood” that the two regional partners share.
The UAE enjoys unique relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, especially when it comes to the UAE's support in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), its humanitarian aid to the displaced people in the Region, and economic investment.
In 2021, the UAE said that it will invest $3 billion in Iraq as an initiative to strengthen economic and investment relations with the country.
Kurdistan Region PM Barzani expressed his condolences to Sheikh Mohammed over the death of his brother in a visit to the UAE on Saturday, also congratulating him on being appointed the country’s new president.
The UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs announced the death of Sheikh Khalifa at the age of 73 on Friday. The government declared a 40-day mourning period for the president, who assumed the role following the death of his father Sheikh Zayed in 2004.
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