Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani yesterday met with the president of European Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats Group, Mr. Hannes Swoboda.



Mr. Swoboda commended the significant developments and progress that the Kurdistan region has achieved under the leadership of President Barzani and that the EU should support the Kurdistan Region with more active engagement, including the establishment of diplomatic presence in Erbil.

The two also discussed relations between Erbil and Baghdad, upcoming Iraqi elections, and the impact of Syrian crisis on Kurdistan and on Iraq. Mr. Swoboda praised the positive role of President Barzani in the peace process in Turkey and in the close ties that have developed between Turkey and the Kurdistan Region in recent years.