By NRT
Italy will open a
Consulate General in the Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil on Tuesday
(Dec. 22), following the country’s Parliament Speaker’s arrival to
Erbil, a senior official confirmed Tuesday.
Member of the
Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations,
Abdulkhaliq Mohammed, told NRT that the Italian representative will
arrive in Erbil Tuesday for the Consulate opening.
Italy already
has an Embassy Consular Office in Erbil to carry out basic functions in
the region and to improve the country’s relations within the Kurdistan
Region but the Consulate with full functions is a step forward.
Mohammad said
“Italy Parliament Speaker will change the office to Consulate General,
which is the highest representative office after Embassy.”
Up to 33
countries have representation offices in Erbil, including the five
permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
A KRG delegation
headed by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani visited Italy in March to
discuss bilateral relations between both sides and the latest
developments in the war against Islamic State (IS).
During the
meetings with Italian officials, Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni told
the KRG delegation that his country had planned to upgrade Italy’s
diplomatic representation to Consulate General.
According to the
Erbil Governorate website, Gentiloni said the decision was the evidence
of the importance that Italy placed in its relationship with the
Kurdistan Region.
