The President of the Senate Grasso officially opens the Italian consulate in Erbil

Last night, the President of the Senate Piero Grasso, has officially inaugurated the new Italian consulate in Erbil, capital of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. The inauguration ceremony was held in the presence of the Prime Minister of the regional government, Nechirvan Barzani, and other important representatives of local authorities, including the Vice-President of the Parliament, the KRG ministers, the High Representative of KRG in Italy Mrs. Kader and several Kurdish parliamentarians. During his speech, the president Grasso said that "the opening of an Italian consulate in Erbil is a consolidation of relations with the region," stressing that "Italy wishes to increase its presence in Iraqi Kurdistan" and to cooperate with Erbil in the "economic, cultural and social areas." In addition, Italy will provide the KRG all the necessary support in humanitarian and military aid to defeat Daesh. Barzani, for his part, said that the opening of the Italian consulate "is a positive progress in the development of relations between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and Italy", pointing out that the Italian Prime minister, Matteo Renzi, was " the first foreign head of government to visit the region (in August 2014) after the start of the conflict between the Kurdistan and Daesh. "Barzani added that the" Kurdish people need international support to defeat terrorism, "recalling that Kurdish Peshmerga militias are "fighting for humanity against a brutal terrorist organization". The Prime Minister thanked Italy for its strong support and thanked all Italian soldiers on the spot for their excellent work in training the Peshmerga forces. Finally, he thanked the former consul Carmelo Ficarra for the good work performed, and wished good job to the appointed Consul Alessandra Di Pippo, taking the opportunity to wish all serene Christmas holidays.

As far as Bilateral meeting with President Grasso is concerned, the parties discussed about the situation in the Kurdistan Region, the progress in the fight against Daesh, bilateral relations between Italy and the Kurdistan Region, and further international aid needed by KRG to better tackle the ongoing humanitarian crisis.