Rafayel Movsesyan, the Acting Chief of Armenia’s Mission to Erbil. Photo: Screengrab/Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Armenia views its relationship with the Kurdistan Region as both friendly and mutually beneficial, with efforts underway to expand cooperation in trade, tourism, education, and cultural exchanges, the Acting Chief of Armenia’s mission to Erbil told Rudaw.
Rafayel Movsesyan in mid-March stated that “Armenia attaches importance to relations with the Kurdistan Region and we perceive these ties as both friendly and mutually beneficial.”
The official 2024 statistics show that “the trade turnover between Armenia and Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, reached almost 250 million [US] dollars,” said Movsesyan, adding that “the bulk of this number belongs to the trade with the Kurdistan Region.” He elaborated that the trade mainly entails the export of cigarettes, coffee, livestock among other things.
Movsesyan noted that “there is still untapped potential for further expanding trade and economic relations,” including in sectors like foodstuff and clothing, and expressed a desire in “seeing a larger quantity of items being exported from Armenia to the Kurdistan Region and vice versa.”
The Armenian diplomat further noted that in 2022, “We organized two Armenian-Kurdish business fora which took place in Yerevan” which saw the participation of “more than 70 Kurdish businessmen.”
In February 2024, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan visited the Kurdistan Region, where he met with President Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil. The two leaders discussed enhancing economic cooperation between Erbil and Yerevan, with a focus on areas such as commerce, investment, healthcare, and tourism.
Answering a question on the sectors Yerevan wishes to expand its ties with Erbil, Movsesyan stated that “among our priorities is forging trade, economic, cultural and scientific educational cooperation.” He additionally pointed out that around 300 students from the Kurdistan Region are studying in Armenia, “most of whom study in medical universities.” He encouraged more students from the Kurdistan Region to study in Armenia.
In terms of cultural exchanges, Movsesyan pointed out that a group of Armenian experts from the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) visited Erbil for the third time last year. The Matenadaran is one of Armenia's leading research institutions, dedicated to preserving and studying ancient manuscripts.
The Armenian team “restored several old documents and conducted an intensive workshop on preserving and restoring manuscripts.”
Movsesyan also said that “tourism between Armenia and the Kurdistan Region is expanding and developing,” pointing to a notable number of Yazidis who travel back and forth between the two for religious tourism.
The Lalesh temple, one of the holiest sites for the Yazidi community, is located in the Dohuk province of the Kurdistan Region, near the town of Shekhan. Yazidis from around the world travel to Lalesh, especially during important religious festivals, underscoring the deep cultural and religious ties between the two regions.
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