Iraq
Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and US Consul General of Erbil Robert Palladino celebrate the completion of the new US consulate building in Erbil, September 22, 2021. Photo: handout/KRG
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United States on Wednesday celebrated the completion of their new consulate building in Erbil on the tenth anniversary of their presence in the Kurdistan Region with a ceremony attended by official figures. Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani was in attendance.
“We are bound together by a long-standing friendship, but we are bound together by shared values and by the will to stand together to defend those values,” Barzani said during the ceremony.
The US has proven its commitment in standing with the Region, he added.
Washington has had a solid relationship with the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. The US provides millions of dollars of aid to Kurdish Peshmerga forces, which is a key ally in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
As part of its diplomatic mission in the area, the US announced the building of the new consulate in 2017, which is the “biggest” consulate in the world, according to Consul General Robert Palladino.
“The US contributes to the stability of the Kurdistan and Iraq and we intend to partner with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its people to build a stronger and more prosperous Kurdistan Region within a unified and federal Iraq,” Palladino said during the ceremony. He later described the US commitment to Iraq and the Region as “rock-solid” on Twitter.
The US has its own military presence in Erbil as well. Washington set up a military base in the Kurdistan Region following the emergence of ISIS and has been a part of the fight against the militant group since.
The US initially opened a diplomatic office in Erbil in February 2007, which was later upgraded to a consulate general in 2011.
“We are bound together by a long-standing friendship, but we are bound together by shared values and by the will to stand together to defend those values,” Barzani said during the ceremony.
The US has proven its commitment in standing with the Region, he added.
Washington has had a solid relationship with the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. The US provides millions of dollars of aid to Kurdish Peshmerga forces, which is a key ally in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
As part of its diplomatic mission in the area, the US announced the building of the new consulate in 2017, which is the “biggest” consulate in the world, according to Consul General Robert Palladino.
“The US contributes to the stability of the Kurdistan and Iraq and we intend to partner with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its people to build a stronger and more prosperous Kurdistan Region within a unified and federal Iraq,” Palladino said during the ceremony. He later described the US commitment to Iraq and the Region as “rock-solid” on Twitter.
The US has its own military presence in Erbil as well. Washington set up a military base in the Kurdistan Region following the emergence of ISIS and has been a part of the fight against the militant group since.
The US initially opened a diplomatic office in Erbil in February 2007, which was later upgraded to a consulate general in 2011.
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