President Barzani today hosted foreign consuls and representatives of international organizations based in Erbil to discuss the latest political and economic developments in Kurdistan, Iraq and the wider region.

In his remarks, President Barzani talked about the efforts to form the new KRG cabinet, the current political crisis in Baghdad including relations between Erbil and Baghdad, and the important changes that have occurred in several countries in the region.

On the formation of the new KRG cabinet, the President said that Nechirvan Barzani has been tasked to form a new KRG government and the process is likely to finalize in less than a month.

“We are trying to reach out to opposition parties to participate in the new government. The door is open for them to participate. If they decide to stay out of the government, they can work as opposition within the legal and parliamentary procedures,” stated the President.

Regarding the current political crisis in Baghdad, President Barzani pointed out that all sides are waiting for the proposed national conference to take place in order to find a way out of the current crisis and build trust among the various sides.

“We as Kurds have consistently tried to be part of the solution and to play a positive role in the political process. There are basic principles which should be respected in Iraq and these include genuine power-sharing, commitment to the Constitution, democracy, federalism and a resolution of the outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad. Our position is dependent on all sides respecting these principles,” added the President.

On regional developments, the President stated that great changes have taken place in the region in 2011. On Syria, he said “recognition of Kurdish rights in Syria matter to us. The Syrian Kurdish representatives recently held a conference in Erbil to unite their positions and we support their decisions.”