UAE and Kurdistan to consider enhancing ties

Iraqi Kurdish men are pictured in a market near the main square outside Arbil’s Citadel in the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq on April 15, 2021, with regional national flags hanging on the walls. [SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images]

The UAE and the autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) are to explore enhancing ties. The decision was announced following discussions between the UAE Consul-General to the KRI, Ahmed Al-Dhaheri, and the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs of Kurdistan, Kwestan Mohamad Abdulla Maarouf.

According to the Emirates News Agency, issues of common interest were on the agenda. Maarouf also thanked the UAE and its charitable institutions and the consulate in Erbil for its social projects in Iraqi Kurdistan. Describing the UAE as a “pioneer in this field”, she added that its support for the Kurdistan region is the largest and has the most impact.

Al-Dhaheri reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to Kurdistan, especially the displaced and refugee populations.

In August, a trade delegation from the KRI looking to strengthen bilateral economic relations with the UAE signed trade and investment deals during a meeting with officials from the Fujairah Free Zone Authority. In May, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, said that the region is ready to enhance ties with Abu Dhabi when he met a delegation from the Emirates.

The UAE has had a consulate in Erbil since 2012, as a result of a visit to the city by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan the year before. The KRI currently has no diplomatic or other formal representation in the UAE.

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