Turkish delegation discuss trade, investment with Masrour Barzani
Following the military defeat of the extremist group, announced by Iraq in December 2017, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) stepped up efforts to re-boost investment and its economy, which were affected by the fight against the Islamic State since 2014.
They also reviewed developments in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, including the next KRG cabinet and the situation of disputed territories, the KRSC statement added.
Barzani stressed the need to normalize those areas to give locals an opportunity to manage their security in coordination with the KRG and the Federal Government of Iraq.
The administration and control over disputed areas have been one of the crucial disputes between Erbil and Baghdad over the past decades. The oil-rich and ethnically diverse province of Kirkuk, in particular, is at the heart of differences between the two sides.
Kirkuk is made of Turkmens, Arabs, and Christians with a Kurdish majority.
After the Islamic State’s emergence in 2014, Kurdish Peshmerga forces protected Kirkuk until October 2017 when Iraqi troops and Shia-dominated militias advanced to take over the area, pushing Peshmerga out of the province. The military offensive came weeks after the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum which saw a landslide majority (93 percent) favoring statehood.
Following the formation of the new Iraqi government headed by Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi in October 2018, Erbil and Baghdad have been in talks to resolve their differences peacefully.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
