Iraq
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (left) and Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani in Baghdad on December 23, 2022. Photo: PM Sudani's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Friday and is set to visit the Kurdistan Region later in the day, where she is expected meet with her country’s troops and the Region’s PM Masrour Barzani.
“It is a symbolic gesture to give an important signal to these people who certainly sacrifice themselves more than us," said Meloni on Thursday during a meeting with the MPs of her party for an exchange of Christmas greetings.
Iraqi PM Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani received Meloni and her delegation in Baghdad on Friday morning.
“His Excellency [Sudani] will hold talks with the Italian delegation to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to enhance cooperation in various fields to serve the interests of the Iraqi and Italian peoples,” read a statement from Sudani’s office.
Sudani and Meloni held a joint press conference following her arrival, in which the Italian PM reiterated her country’s commitment to continuing the strong bilateral relations between Rome and Baghdad.
“The Iraqi people have achieved a lot through their sacrifices, and we are ready to continue being one of the main contributors to that process,” she said.
During her visit to Baghdad, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni also met with Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid and parliamentary Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi before heading to the Kurdistan Region’s capital.
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) December 23, 2022
📸: President Rashid's office
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Friday’s visit marks Meloni’s first trip to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region since assuming office in late October. Former Italian PM Giuseppe Conte visited the Kurdistan Region in 2019.
Soran Ahmad, Secretary-General of the International Kurdish Culture Institute in Rome, told Rudaw’s Arez Khalid that he believes Italy could be an important ally to the Kurdistan Region.
“Italy could be the strongest ally for Kurds because of many reasons. Whether that’s because it one of the world’s seven major industrialized countries, or because it has millions of companies that make it easy for them to enter the Kurdistan Region. But unfortunately we have not made much progress on that front, which I believe is a loss for both sides,” Ahmad said.
He added that there are currently around 10,000 Kurds living in Italy, and that in recent years around 40 to 50 Italian books have been written about Kurds.
Eugenio Grosso, an Italian journalist, believed that one of the main reasons for Meloni’s visit to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region was Rome’s long-standing relationship with Erbil and Baghdad, also noting that awareness about the Kurdish cause has increased in recent years among the Italian public.
“The Kurdish question is a topic which was in the past more specific just for a small amount of people, but now with time and even more information and connection between our two countries, more and more people are getting aware about the Kurdish question and are getting involved and are researching and listening and reading about this topic,” Grosso told Rudaw's Sima Abxizir on Friday.
Italy has been a member of the global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) since 2014, and has up to 900 soldiers deployed to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, providing military advice and training to the Peshmerga forces.
Italy and the Kurdistan Region have shared strong relations since 2003, and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has a representative in the Italian capital of Rome.
Italy assumed command of the NATO mission to Iraq in May, a following a ceremony held in Baghdad to mark the change of command from Denmark.
The NATO mission to Iraq was launched in Brussels in 2018, following a request from the Iraqi government. It is a non-combat and advisory mission assisting Iraq in fighting terrorism and preventing an ISIS resurgence.
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