TEHRAN- The representative of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to Iran has said that given the positive achievements of Nechirvan Barzani’s visit to Tehran, the autonomous region will definitely witness the development of political, security, and economic cooperation between Iran and the Kurdistan Region in the future.

Regarding the importance and achievements of Barzani’s recent visit to Tehran and his meetings with high-ranking officials, Nazim Dabagh, the Kurdistan Regional Government representative to Tehran, stated in an interview with IRNA on Saturday that the strategic and important visit of Barzani, the head of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, to Tehran, along with his accompanying delegation, was not aimed at strengthening relations with Tehran, but rather to repair relations and resolve the problems that had arisen. 

The two sides in the visit and meetings emphasized continuing the past relations and expanding those relations.

He stated that Barzani’s important visit to Iran had many positive achievements, saying, “One of the most important achievements of this visit was the meeting that Barzani had with Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, for the first time, which was a friendly and intimate meeting.

The representative of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq emphasized that in this meeting, the leadership of the Iranian Revolution emphasized that at one point in time, the majority of Kurdish leaders in Iraq lived in Iran.

Dabagh went on to add that during the meeting with Iran’s Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the Leader mentioned some past memories and also remembered the late Idris Barzani, the father of Nechirvan Barzani. 

The Leader also emphasized that “we should cooperate as one nation with each other to address some of the issues between us and to take steps towards strengthening the relations between Iran and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.”

He stated that the recent visit of the president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to Iran had positive and good achievements in the political, economic, and security fields. 

Additionally, he said that the volume of trade between Iran and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq has not increased significantly during this period, but it has not decreased either.

The representative of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq stated that if suitable conditions and atmosphere are provided for increasing the volume of trade between the two sides, there are good capacities in the KRG that can create good grounds for cooperation with Iran and increase the volume of bilateral trade.

Dabagh also pointed out that in order to increase the level of commercial interactions between the two sides, the authorities of Iran and the KRG are determined to do so and emphasized the benefits that both sides will have from this matter while expressing hope that the conditions for achieving such a goal will be provided.

He continued by saying that in a recent press conference that Barzani had, he emphasized that the authorities in Erbil are committed to implementing the terms of the security agreement between Iran and Iraq, and of course, part of these agreements has been implemented.

The representative of the KRG averred that Barzani emphasized the issue that no group in the territory of the KRG has the right to take any action against the national interests and security of Iran and neighboring countries, and likewise, Iran should not take any action against the interests and security of the region. 

Dabagh concluded by saying that “we will definitely see the development of political, security, and economic cooperation between Iran and the KRG in the future, and Barzani also emphasized that we are trying to prevent any problems that existed in the past between Iran and the region from arising again.”