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Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte (L) greets KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Rome, Italy ahead of bilateral talks, February 18, 2020. Photo: KRG
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was in Rome on Tuesday for bilateral talks with his Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte.
Italy has been a long-time supporter of the Kurdish Peshmerga in the fight against the Islamic State group (ISIS).
Now the KRG is looking to develop its trade ties with Rome.
Barzani arrived in the Italian capital on Tuesday after attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany. The KRG PM later met with Vatican officials.
“I am delighted to be in Rome to meet Prime Minister Conte today,” Barzani said in a statement published by his office.
“I took the chance to thank Italy for its support in the fight against terrorism, including support to the Peshmerga as well as police training, while also noting that a serious threat from ISIS remains: we must keep up the pressure.”
“I also underlined the range of trade and investment opportunities available to our Italian friends, and look forward to growing our bilateral trade relationship in the years to come,” the statement added.
Italy is part of the US-led international coalition to defeat ISIS. Italian troops stationed in the Kurdistan Region have provided training for local military police, known as the Zeravani forces. Sixty-five Zeravani Peshmerga graduated in VIP security and crowd control training with the Italian Carabinieri.
Italy’s Prime Minister Conte visited the Kurdistan Region following a visit to Baghdad in February 2019.
The KRG prime minister, who formed his government with the promise of reforms in a region marred by corruption, financial inefficiency, and a bloated public sector, outlined his reform plans to Conte, “not least to enable foreign investors, including Italian companies, to invest and do business more easily in the Kurdistan Region”.
Following his meeting with Conte, Barzani tweeted: “Italy has been firm friend to Kurdistan and we look forward to continued partnership.”
Later on Tuesday, Barzani paid a visit to Vatican City, the heart of the Roman Catholic Church, to discuss the Kurdistan Region’s protection of religious minorities.
“A wonderful visit the Vatican today to meet Secretary of State Pietro Parolin. We discussed the importance of tolerance and understanding both between and within different faiths. Religious tolerance is one of Kurdistan’s great strengths – we must do all we can to preserve it,” Barzani tweeted following the meeting.
Religious minorities, including Christians and Yezidis, faced savage persecution at the hands of ISIS between 2014 and 2017. Many took shelter in the Kurdistan Region.
The KRG PM was also slated to hold further meetings with Italian officials, including Italy’s minister of defense.
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