ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Italy’s defense minister on Tuesday arrived in Baghdad, meeting with Iraqi top officials. He visited Erbil later the same day.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto met with Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani after arriving in Baghdad on Tuesday.
"Italy and #Iraq share historical relations based on wide cooperation. We hope to make it wider through new initiatives," Crosetto told the Iraqi president.
After meeting with Sudani, the Italian minister was quoted by the ministry as saying that Iraq was grateful of his country's “contribution to security and infrastructure sectors,” adding that Baghdad also appreciates NATO’s mission and commitment to the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
Italy has been a member of the global coalition against ISIS since 2014, and has up to 900 soldiers deployed to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, providing military advice and training to the Peshmerga forces.
The Italian defense ministry said Crosetto will visit his country’s troops in Iraq during his trip.
Sudani’s office said in a tweet that he and the Italian minister “discussed ways to enhance Iraqi-Italy relations. PM commended Italy's role in combating terrorism & training Iraqi security forces under the @NATO mission stressing commitment to regional & global security goals.”
Crosetto arrived in Erbil late Tuesday and was received by the Region's interior minister. He will meet Kurdish officials on Wednesday.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani last month held meetings with several top Italian officials during his trip to Rome after meeting with Pope Francis.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said at the time that they want to expand their representation in the Region.
Italy and the Kurdistan Region have shared strong relations since 2003, and the KRG has a representative in the Italian capital of Rome. Former Italian PM Giuseppe Conte visited the Kurdistan Region in 2019.
