Australia’s Ambassador to Iraq Ms Lyndall Sachs visited Erbil this week to exchange views with President Masoud Barzani and Prime Minister Barham Salih on political and economic developments and to discuss increasing economic relations.

President Barzani met Ambassador Sachs, who reaffirmed Australia’s full support for a democratic and pluralistic Iraq and commended him on the Kurdistan Region’s economic progress. She expressed the Australian government’s eagerness to work together and to assist in several sectors, including agriculture, education, trade and industry.

President Barzani thanked Ambassador Sachs for Australia’s role in overthrowing the former regime, and hoped that the Australian government will encourage private companies to participate in economic and investment projects. Ambassador Sachs said that Australia’s role in helping Iraq overcome its tragic past extends to assisting in the reconstruction of its infrastructure and enhancing economic development.

They also discussed the current political situation between Erbil and Baghdad and the developments in the Middle East.

Prime Minister Salih met Ambassador Sachs to discuss the political and economic developments in the Kurdistan Region and in Iraq as a whole, and to talk about ways in which Australia and the international community can help in the development of both the public and private sector.

Prime Minister Salih said he hoped that more Australian universities will become involved in the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Human Capacity Development Programme of scholarships, so that students from the Kurdistan Region can gain knowledge and expertise from Australia’s institutions.

Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, the KRG’s Head of Foreign Relations briefed Ambassador Sachs on the foreign representative offices present in the Kurdistan Region and the type of relationships that the KRG enjoys with the international community.

During her three-day visit Ambassador Sachs also met separately with the Minister of Natural Resources Dr Ashti Hawrami, Minister of Higher Education Dr Dlawer Ala’Aldeen, Minister of Education Safeen Dizayee, Minister of Trade and Industry, Sinan Çelebi and the Governor of Erbil Nawzad Hadi.