

Yesterday, a reception, organized by the KRG Representation in
Italy, was held at Hotel Westin Excelsior in Rome, to celebrate the
Kurdish New Year Nawroz and the revenge of the Kurdish people on
ISIS.
The Kurdish New Year is a very important anniversary for the Kurdish
people as a symbol of rebirth, which coincides with the beginning of
spring. This year, the High Representative Rezan Kader has chosen to
dedicate the celebrations to the successes of the brave Peshmerga
which for two years and more are fighting valiantly against the ISIS
terrorists. The Peshmerga were able to clean up the areas under the
hands of ISIS, and now are continuing to fight to free the other
areas of the rest of Iraq.
Mrs. Kader welcomed all guests and thanked them for having accepted
the invitation to the celebrations. She also thanked the Italian
Government for the solidarity and support expressed to the Kurdistan
Regional Government, as well as all on-site Italian soldiers which
are taking care of the peshmerga military training and supporting
them in the fight against ISIS. She then left the floor to the
President of the Defense Committee of the Senate Nicola Latorre, who
praised the courage of Peshmerga and the sacrifices that the region
is supporting.

Finally, the Iraqi Ambassador to the Holy See, Omer Berzinji
underlined the importance of Nawroz for the Kurdish people, and
thanked all the guests for attending the reception but also the
Italian government and the Holy See for their continued support in
the fight against Daesh in order to restore peace and stability in
the area. The Italian anthem and the Kurdish one followed the
speeches. A beautiful video on the Kurdistan Region, the Nawroz
celebrations and the latest achievements of the Peshmerga was showed
on a big screen.

Present at the event, representatives of the Holy See and the
Congregation for Eastern Churches, the Presidency of the Council of
Ministers, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Defense and the
Staff of Defense, the Diplomatic Officials in Rome, the President of
the NATO Defense College Amb. Minuto Rizzo, representatives of the
Italian press, the Kurdish community in Rome, the President of DIACO
and many other dear friends.


