Kurdistan Regional Government
Representation in Italy
Rome - (KRG.org) – Minister Falah Mustafa led a delegation from the Department of Foreign Relations to Italy last week, where they met with Italy's Deputy Foreign Minister, visited Parliament, and Minister Mustafa signed an agreement with the Italian Society for International Organization.
The delegation included the Representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government in Italy, Dr. Rezan Kader; Assistant Chief of the DFR, Siham Jabali; Advisor to the DFR, Saleem Ibrahim; and Directors of the DFR, Hoshang Mohamed, Tawfiq Rahman, and Omer Rashid. During the four-day visit, the delegation met with Deputy Foreign Minister Lapo Pistelli. Minister Mustafa thanked Mr. Pistelli for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' cooperation and added: "The KRG attaches great importance to relations with Italy, and I would also like to thank the Representative Office in Italy and the Italian Consulate in Erbil for the role they play in strengthening our mutual relations."
Deputy Minister Pistelli welcomed the delegation and expressed his satisfaction with the level of development in bilateral relations, highlighting the increased number of Italian companies operating in Kurdistan. Both sides discussed developments in Kurdish, Iraqi, and regional politics and security. The delegation also met with a number of other senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the visit, Minister Mustafa and former Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini signed a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Society for International Organization (SIOI), which President Frattini now heads. The MOU was finalized and signed after Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani approved a proposal earlier this year. During his visit to SIOI, Minister Mustafa addressed a conference attended by over 150 diplomats, professors, academics, researchers, and journalists. He informed the audience about the geopolitical influence of Kurdistan, the history of the Kurdish people, the tragedies that have been overcome, the developments since the 1991 uprising, and the future of the region.
During their visit to Italy, the delegation visited the Italian Parliament, where they were received by the Vice President of the Senate, Valeria Fedeli. Minister Mustafa briefed the Vice President on the upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections scheduled for April 2014 and discussed how both Kurdistan and Iraq can benefit from Italy, given its history and experience in democracy. Vice President Fedeli expressed her support for the effort to further international recognition of the genocide committed by the former Ba'athist regime against the Kurdish people.
The delegation also visited the University of Perugia, where Minister Mustafa gave a lecture and met with various university officials, as well as local government officials. The delegation met with diplomats from the international community as well as members of the Italian business community. On the final day of the visit, the delegation traveled to the Holy See in the Vatican, where they met with Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio. Minister Mustafa outlined Kurdistan's culture of compassion and coexistence and spoke about the region's Christian community and the Syrian crisis, which had led to the influx of approximately 250,000 refugees into the region.
