ERBIL () - President Masoud Barzani received a delegation from the French Senate in Pirmam on Tuesday, for talks centered on the longstanding relationship between France and the Kurdistan Region, regional stability and political developments in Iraq.
The delegation included Nicole Duranton, Chair of the French-Iraqi Parliamentary Friendship Committee, Rémi Féraud, senator for Paris, and Olivier Bitz, senator for Orne. French Consul General in Erbil Emmanuel Mignot also attended the meeting.
During the discussions, the French senators expressed appreciation for President Barzani's role in the Kurdish liberation movement, the development of the Kurdistan Region's institutions, his leadership of the Peshmerga forces and the fight against ISIS.
They also praised his efforts, as they described them, to promote stability and coexistence in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq and the wider region.
The delegation emphasized what it described as the deep and multifaceted relationship connecting France and the Kurdistan Region, including historical, political, cultural and people-to-people ties.
The senators said the French government and public had consistently respected the Kurdish people's struggle and sacrifices, as well as their commitment to coexistence and democracy.
President Barzani welcomed the delegation and reviewed the history of relations between France and the people of Kurdistan, referring to several periods in the Kurdish struggle, including the September Revolution and the 1991 Uprising.
He also recalled France's efforts surrounding the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 688, as well as its role in protecting the Kurdistan Region and assisting Peshmerga forces in the fight against terrorism.
President Barzani pointed to visits by former French President François Hollande and President Emmanuel Macron to the Kurdistan Region as further examples of the relationship between the two sides.
He also highlighted the naming of a thoroughfare in Paris after the Peshmerga, describing these events as milestones demonstrating the friendship and partnership between the peoples of Kurdistan and France.
The meeting also covered the political situation and the latest developments across the region.
President Barzani said the Kurdistan Region had sought to remain outside the tensions and conflicts affecting the wider region and had consistently worked to contribute to solutions rather than become part of regional disputes.
On Iraq's domestic political situation, President Barzani reiterated support for the Iraqi prime minister while emphasizing constitutional governance and established principles governing relations among the country's political components.
"We remain committed to supporting the Iraqi prime minister in implementing the Constitution and the principles of partnership, consensus and balance, while safeguarding state institutions and stability,"President Barzani said.
The meeting underscored both sides' emphasis on maintaining the longstanding relationship between the Kurdistan Region and France while preserving stability amid continuing political and security challenges in Iraq and the wider region.
For President Barzani, the historical record of French engagement, from earlier stages of the Kurdish struggle to political and security cooperation in more recent years, remains an important foundation for the relationship.
The visiting senators, for their part, framed those ties as extending beyond official diplomacy to encompass shared historical, cultural and societal connections between the French and Kurdish peoples.
