ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Saturday congratulated the new leader of Italy, saying he was eager to strengthen ties between the European nation and the autonomous region of Iraq.

“Congratulations to Mario Draghi on being sworn in as Italy’s new Prime Minister,” Barzani wrote in a tweet on Saturday.

Draghi was sworn in on Saturday as Italy’s thirtieth prime minister.

“I look forward to working with you to advance our relationship and common interests,” he added, calling Italy a “reliable friend and partner” of the Kurdistan Region.

Italy, as an active member of the US-led global coalition against the so-called Islamic State, has provided the region’s Peshmerga forces with vital combat training and ammunition in the months leading up to the group’s territorial defeat in 2017.

In September 2020, a top delegation from the Italian Defense Ministry headed by Minister Lorenzo Guerini arrived in the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil, where they met with top Kurdistan Region officials, including Premier Barzani.

In a meeting with then-Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte last year, Barzani thanked Italy’s staunch support in the fight against the Islamic State

Italy also provided humanitarian aid to 200 displaced families in 2017 for the victims of the powerful earthquake that hit south of the Kurdistan Region in September of that year.