ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein arrived in Italy on Wednesday to attend the high-level conference of the Mediterranean Dialogues (MED), a three-day forum in Naples bringing together foreign ministers, policymakers and experts to discuss pressing regional and international issues, the foreign ministry said.
In a statement, the ministry noted that "during the forum, the minister will participate in several dialogue sessions addressing key regional and international issues of common interest, alongside his counterparts, foreign ministers, decision-makers and experts.”
The 11th edition of the MED began on Wednesday and will last two days.
"Amid complex regional dynamics, the conference will help shape a positive agenda for the Mediterranean, gathering leaders from governments, business, civil society, media, and academia," the organizers noted.
Rome enjoys closed and good relations with Erbil and Baghdad.
Italy is a member of the US-led Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State (ISIS) that was formed in 2014 when the extremist group seized large swathes of Iraqi and Syrian land. Italian forces played a key role in training Kurdish Peshmerga forces.
The European country is currently pushing to expand its business footprint in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq beyond oil and energy, the country’s ambassador to Iraq told Rudaw in an exclusive interview last week. The diplomat added that Baghdad and Erbil’s growing stability and developments across all sectors draw renewed interests from European investors.
Unconfirmed figures suggest over 30,000 Iraqis live in Italy, with the bulk of them coming from the Kurdistan Region.
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