ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani has arrived in Rome and is set to meet with Pope Leo XIV during the two-day trip.
The visit aims at “further developing and advancing relations,” Nuri Osman, head of President Nechirvan Barzani’s office, told Rudaw on Sunday.
He also noted that Barzani will meet Italian leaders during the visit.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency noted that the visit will last for two days.
“President Nechirvan Barzani will meet with His Holiness the Pope and the president of Italy as well as a number of senior Italian government and Vatican state officials,” the statement added.
In the meetings, the “relations between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with Italy and the Vatican City State,” in addition to the “political and security status of Iraq and the region,” along with “other topics of mutual interest,” will be discussed, according to the statement.
On Friday, President Barzani received Miroslaw Wachowski, the Vatican’s new Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq. Barzani reiterated the Kurdistan Region’s support for his mission and stressed the Region’s commitment to coexistence and religious diversity.
Iraq’s Christian population has sharply declined over the past two decades. Following the US-led invasion in 2003, sectarian violence forced many Christians to flee, while attacks by the Islamic State in 2014 devastated minority communities, particularly in northern Iraq.
Updated at 8:24 pm
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment