Kurdistan region President Nechirvan Barzani received Friday French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Erbil to discuss the relations between the region and Paris.
Speaking at a joint press conference, Barzani said the Kurdistan region will not forget France's support, reported the Rudaw news agency.
He described Le Drian’s visit as “important”, saying the minister has always been a friend and helped develop relations between Iraq and Kurdistan.
France was a great partner in fighting terrorism alongside the anti-ISIS coalition, noted Barzani, stressing that: “We still need France’s support and the coalition to fight against ISIS.”
Barzani announced Kurdistan’s “readiness” to host French companies willing to invest in various sectors.
In turn, Le Drian said his country supports and stands by the Kurdistan region, and will provide medical supplies within days, including “help and financial support for a Halabja hospital.”
He noted that Paris has implemented many projects in Kurdistan for refugees and displaced people, and will continue to do so, announcing that “France will provide $15 million for Duhok water system projects,” with assistance from Germany.
In a meeting with Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Friday, Le Drian delivered an official invitation from Macron to visit France.
They discussed recent developments in Iraq and the region, as well as means to enhance historical relations between Kurdistan and France.
Le Drian expressed his country’s readiness to support the region with experts, especially in the agricultural field in order to overcome the current economic crisis.
During the meeting, Masrour Barzani said France and the international community could play a “positive role” in bringing the Kurdish and the Iraqi federal governments closer in resolving issues based on Iraq’s 2005 constitution.
“We have not asked for anything that contradicts Iraq’s constitution,” he said, explaining that the Kurdistan region “would reject anything that is less than our constitutional rights.”
Le Drian had landed in Baghdad on Thursday where he met with several Iraqi officials, including President Barham Salih, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.
During a press conference with his Iraqi counterpart, he stressed that his country will continue to support Iraqi security forces against ISIS.
“We will not compromise against the enemy,” Le Drian added.
He confirmed that Iraq's sovereignty is important, saying his country is looking forward to seeing Baghdad “restore its pioneering role to create balance for the Middle East.”
France is part of the US-led international coalition, which provides support and training to Iraqi forces to pursue ISIS. France has about 200 military personnel, including 160 who are training the Iraqi army.
