ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Armenia plans to establish a consulate general in the Kurdish city of Erbil, staff at the country’s embassy in Baghdad confirmed.
The Armenian president will present a draft decree for the consulate’s establishment to the Armenian cabinet, according to a report on Tuesday from the state news agency Armenpress.
"Yes. That's right. But I don't know any more details now — when, where... We don't know yet. We should know more information in a week," Nishik Nakonya, an Armenian embassy staff member in Baghdad, told Rudaw English on Thursday.
Trade and economic cooperation were cited by the newspaper that also noted flights between Erbil and the Armenian capital city of Yerevan operate during tourism seasons.
Armenia is a land-locked, mountainous nation of an estimated 3 million people, including Kurds and Yezidis, located in the South Caucasus region.
Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Iraq were established in 2000, when Armenia opened its embassy in Baghdad. The next year Iraq established its embassy in Yerevan.
Armenia closed its Baghdad embassy in 2003 at the beginning of the Iraq War, then reopened it in 2010.
"From 2004 to 2008 Armenia provided humanitarian assistance to Iraq, participating with limited contingent of de-miners, doctors and drivers in peacekeeping activies," according to the embassy's website.
The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations (DFR) lists on its website consulate generals from 21 nations, and 14 other various forms of national representations in Kurdistan. Additionally, the European Union Delegation has a liaison office, as does the United Nations Mission to Iraq, among others.
The KRG's DFR told Rudaw English that it was aware of Armenia's plans, but the final steps would need to be finalized in Erbil.
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