The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Ban Ki-moon, several foreign ministers and other UN officials received the high-level Iraqi delegation headed by the Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Hoshyar Zebari, in New York last week.

Minister Falah Mustafa, Head of KRG Department of Foreign Relations, was a member of the delegation representing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The delegation was in New York to participate in the 68th General Assembly of the United Nations. In the margins, the delegation conducted bilateral meetings with Ms Catherine Ashton, High Representative of EU for Foreign Affairs; Ms Helen Clark, Administrator of UNDP; Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC); Mr Lakhdar Brahimi, UN and Arab League Envoy to Syria; Mr Dr Khalid Al-Attiyah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar and Mr János Martonyi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, as well as others senior officials.

During their meetings, the Iraqi and KRG delegation touched on the political developments in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, including its recent and successful parliamentary elections. They also highlighted the impacts of the ongoing violence in Syria, the increasing number of refugees fleeing into Iraq, 97% of which are currently in Kurdistan, as well as the need for a political settlement to end the crisis.

On Wednesday 25 September, Minister Mustafa also participated in an informal ministerial meeting at the EU Mission representing Iraqi Federal Government and KRG to discuss events in Syria. He spoke in detail about the assistance the local communities and the authorities are providing to the refugees. The gathering, which was co-chaired by the Jordanian Foreign Minister and the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, included UNHCR and other UN agencies from countries hosting refugees..

The UN Secretary-General expressed his appreciation to both governments of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in their meeting for the hospitality provided to the refugees. He also commended the successful and democratic provincial elections in Iraq held earlier this year and the recent parliamentary elections in Kurdistan.

In their meeting with Ms Clarke, Minister Zebari emphasised the regional impact that the Syrian conflict continues to have on Iraq and other neighbouring countries, and underlined that thus far that Iraq and Kurdistan Region have received over 240,000 refugees. He also added that these refugees are in continued need of assistance.

The KRG has contributed over $60m in cash to the refugees.

During their meeting with Ms Ashton, the delegation spoke about the need to further promote ties between EU, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region under the framework of the EU-Iraq Partnership Agreement that was signed in 2012. They also stressed on the regional implications of the violence in Syria, particularly on Iraq.

Minster Zebari also conferred about the UN Security Council Resolution 2188 with Mr Brahimi. This resolution calls on Syria to work with the United Nations in destroying its chemical weapons. They also conferred on the need for a political solution for the violence in Syria, both sides agreeing that the upcoming Geneva 2 conference is an important platform.

The delegation also met with Mr Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan; Mr Jan Kohout, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Czech Republic; Mr Jose Garcia, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain; Ms Julie Bishop, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia and Mr Guido Westerwelle, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany.

In their meetings with Arab Foreign Ministers and other officials, the delegation called for more diplomatic representation and engagement in Baghdad and in Erbil and for their companies to participate in the economic opportunities in the country as a whole. Later on, the delegation participated in an Arab League ministerial meeting to discuss and address developments in the region.