Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (cabinet.gov.krd) – Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, received Mr. Vincenzo Amendola, Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and his accompanying delegation.

In the meeting, also attended by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, Mr. Amendola commended the victories marked by Kurdistan Region military forces, the Peshmerga, in the fight against the Islamic State terrorist group, ISIS.

He also praised the Kurdistan Region for having accommodated and offered assistance to a large number of internally displaced people, who fled ISIS repression.

Mr. Amendola also highlited the cooperation between the Peshmanrga and Italian forces that are stationed in Mosul dam, providing security and protection to the Italian companies in charge of reparing the dam.

While reaffiming his country’s will to continue its support to the Kurdistan Region, Mr. Amendola expressed his government’s desire to further strengtrhen bilateral relations.

Prime Minister Barzani expressed his appreciation for the continuous support of Italy, recalling Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s visit to the Kurdistan Region at the beginning of the fight against ISIS in August 2014, which had tremendous moral support for Kurdistan.

Regarding relations between Baghdad and Erbil, Prime Minister Barzani highlighted the military cooperation between the two sides in the fight against ISIS. He noted, however, cooperation in other fields is almost non-existent, for which he stressed the need for serious talks between the two sides to settle the diffrerences.