Romanian Foreign Minister opens Consular Office in Erbil
The Foreign Minister expressed admiration for the political and economic developments in the Kurdistan Region and said that the government of Romania is committed to strengthen ties with the Kurdistan Region on the basis of mutual benefit.
Emphasizing his support for the project over the past year at the ceremony for Romania’s new diplomatic office, Minister Corlăţean said, “I am very satisfied about the fact that today we launched the Romanian consulate In Erbil. This is part of a broader effort from Romania to enlarge the level of the consulate and the support for the consular services but also for the business presence of Romanian companies in Iraq and also in the Kurdistan Region.”
“On the other side, we are interested to offer good quality consular assistance to the citizens who want to visit Romania and for companies that may want to invest in Romania,” he added.
Also participating in the ceremony, the Chief of Staff for the Kurdistan Region Presidency, Dr Fuad Hussein, thanked the Romanian Foreign Minister for his efforts in support of opening the Consular Office in Erbil, saying: “The opening of this office is a stepping stone to enhance cultural, educational, political, and economic relations between Romania and the Kurdistan Region.”
“We encourage Romanian companies to contribute to the economic developments in the Kurdistan Region, and the Kurdistan Regional Government is ready to make all the necessary arrangements to assist in that purpose,” he added.
The Romanian Consular Office has been operating informally since the Head of the Office arrived in Kurdistan in February of this year. The office has been offering Schengen Visas to Kurdistan Region citizens for several months now, and the office will continue this and other services now that it has been officially opened.
In addition to presiding over the opening of the new representation, Minister Corlăţean also attended a number of meetings with senior KRG officials during his visit, including a formal lunch with Prime Minister Barzani on Monday.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has worked hard to expand its ties with the international community, and as a result of this effort, there are now 25 official consulates and foreign representations permanently stationed in Erbil.
The KRG Minister for the Interior, Mr Karim Sinjari; Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Sinan Ҫelebi; and Minister of Transport and Communications, Mr Jonson Siyaoosh also participated in the opening of the Romanian Consular Office.
Along with representatives of the local diplomatic community and other officials, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iraq, Mr Labeed Abbawi; the Romanian Ambassador to Iraq, Mr Jacob Prada; the Iraqi Ambassador to Romania, Mr Mohammad Saeed Al-Shakarchi; the Head of the Romanian Consular Office, Mr Eugen Sihleanu, and the Governor of Erbil, Mr Newzad Hadi, also attended the event.
