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April
12, 2005, KDC - Falah Mustafa Bakir, Minister of
State in the Kurdistan Regional Government,
described his week long visit to London, during
which he met Baroness Symons, the British Foreign
Office Minister, as
"a success and another step towards deepening the
long-established relations between Kurdistan and
Great Britain".
Mr Bakir, who was in London from April 4th to 9th,
held several meetings with British government
officials, members of the House of Lords, the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office and journalists,
diplomats and commentators. He discussed the current
political situation in Kurdistan and in Iraq as a
whole and highlighted the economic developments and
continuing needs of the Kurdistan region.
Baroness Symons told Mr Bakir during their meeting
on April 7th that the British government welcomed a
federal, democratic, pluralistic and unified Iraq,
echoing comments she had made in parliament earlier
that day.
Ms Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the newly appointed
Kurdistan Regional Government High Representative to
the UK, said: "The meetings Mr Bakir held in London
illustrate not only the Kurdistan Regional
Government's
willingness to reach out to the international
political and business community, but also the keen
interest from Britain and the rest of the world in
political and economic developments in Kurdistan."
Kurdistan of Iraq has had long relations with Great
Britain, which set up the no-fly-zone with the US
over parts of Kurdistan in 1991, offering protection
to the Kurds from Saddam Hussein's regime. Many
British service
personnel, MPs and business people are already
familiar with the stability and openness of the
Kurdistan region and are watching developments in
Baghdad as the Kurds, Shia, Sunni and other Iraqi
groups head towards the formation of a new
government and the writing of a new constitution.
Mr Bakir gave insights into the negotiations in
Baghdad and Kurdish aspirations for a democratic and
federal Iraq at a debate hosted by the Next Century
Foundation, a London-based think tank. The evening
attracted
participants including Sir Harold Walker, former
British Ambassador to Iraq, Alastair King-Smith from
the UK Government Post Conflict Reconstruction Unit,
senior representatives from the Kuwaiti and Egyptian
Embassies and London-based British and international
media.
William Morris, Director of the Next Century
Foundation told KDC that together Minister Bakir and
Ms Rahman "presented a passionate picture of the
desire that the Kurds have to work together with all
parties for a better Iraq".
Dr Noel Guckian OBE, the Consul General for Northern
Iraq, hosted a lunch for Minister Bakir and Ms
Rahman along with representatives from the Ministry
of Defence and the British Council. Lunch was
followed by a lengthy and productive meeting with
officials from the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office
(FCO).
On 5 April, the FCO updated its Travel Advice for
Iraq. The advice recognises that the situation in
the area administered by the Kurdistan Regional
Government differs from other areas of the country.
The new advice highlights that the state of
emergency declared in Iraq does not include the KRG
administered regions of Duhok, Erbil and Suleimani
governorates. The full advice is available at
www.fco.gov.uk
Lord Tim Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrats) felt that
his meeting with Minister Bakir provided an
"enjoyable and invaluable chance to catch up with
the Minister and to be updated on the region's many
advances since visiting there in August 2004".
The visit to London by Falah Mustafa Bakir, Minister
of State in the KRG, was facilitated by the KRG
London Office and the Kurdistan Development
Corporation (KDC). The Minister encouraged companies
interested in the region to contact the KDC, which
is a joint initiative by the Kurdistan Regional
Government and international businessmen.
www.krg.org
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