ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – UK lawmakers and diplomats say they are optimistic about relations of their nation with the autonomous Kurdistan Region and praised the region's new leadership, namely Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and President Nechirvan Barzani.
On June 10, the Kurdistan Parliament by majority vote appointed the new regional President and nominated the Prime Minister; two senior leaders of the leading Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), a political group that won Sep. 2018 parliamentary elections with a large margin by securing 45 parliamentary seats. In second place followed the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) with 21 seats and in third with 12 seats was the Gorran (Change) Movement.
One month later on July 10, the parliament confirmed the new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet by a majority vote. It's a government that has promised to strengthen the Kurdistan Region and conduct reforms, improve governance, and turn a new page in relations between Erbil and Baghdad.
“I think he will make a great prime minister,” British member of the UK Parliament Nadhim Zahawi told Kurdistan 24 last week during the KRG Summer Reception event organized in London. “He is thoughtful, considerate, and deliberate.”
He went on to call Prime Minister Barzani’s cabinet “a great team” that would be expected to focus on the prosperity of the Kurdistan Region and improve the relationship with both Baghdad and various neighboring countries.
“I think this bodes very well for Kurdistan having Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and President Nechirvan Barzani. I think it’s a great combination,” Zahawi continued.
“If you think of succession planning anywhere in the world, including the United Kingdom, you couldn't have hoped for two better leaders… I think this is a very, very important moment in the history of Kurdistan.”