At an official invitation, the President of the Kurdistan Region visits France , 2 NOV

  At an official invitation, the President of the Kurdistan Region visits France

11/2/2023

The President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, is scheduled to make an official visit to Paris tomorrow, Friday, in response to an official invitation sent to him by French President Emmanuel Macron.

According to a statement issued by the French presidency, President Macron will meet tomorrow with President Nechirvan at the Elysee Palace.

In turn, the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region explained in a statement that President Nechirvan Barzani will discuss tomorrow, during his meeting with President Macron at the Elysee Palace, French relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, the development of joint cooperation, and the situation in Iraq and the region in general.

It is noteworthy that this is the fourth official visit conducted by Nechirvan Barzani since he assumed the presidency of the Kurdistan Regional Government in its previous session, and the presidency of the region in its current session.

The French President was scheduled to pay a visit to Iraq to attend the “Third Baghdad Conference,” which was scheduled to be held at the end of October, but the postponement of its holding until further notice prevented that.

Earlier today, an informed Iraqi government source told Shafaq News Agency that the countries participating in the “Third Baghdad Conference” demanded that the conference be postponed due to the unstable conditions Iraq is witnessing due to the escalation of attacks against American forces, and with a fear of an escalation of these attacks and the American response. And with warnings from some countries against traveling to Iraq.”

The government source added that the “Third Baghdad Conference” has been postponed until further notice, and no new date has been set for it. The date will be linked to stabilizing the situation and stopping the escalation of the armed factions against the American forces present with a number of Iraqi military forces.

The "Baghdad 2" conference was held on December 22, 2022, at the King Hussein bin Talal Convention Center on the coast of the Dead Sea, after a first session held in the Iraqi capital in August 2021 at the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron and Iraq.

The conference was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani, Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, European Union foreign policy official Josep Borrell, who coordinates the Vienna negotiations on the Iranian nuclear file, and Enrique Mora, the European Union coordinator for these talks. In addition to the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and a number of other Arab foreign ministers. LINK