Masrour Barzani: 2022 was a productive year for KRG

Shafaq News/ The outgoing year has been a "productive year" for the foreign policy of the Kurdistan Regional Government foreign policy, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said in a statement he issued on new year's eve, Saturday.

Barzani extended his greetings to the people of the Kurdistan region, the families of martyrs, and the members of the Peshmerga and security forces at the end of 2022.

Barzani said that the KRG has slogged through, in cooperation with the private sector, a constellation of major projects in agriculture, construction, road building, and digitalization, albeit its "limited capacity".

"2022 was a productive year in diplomacy," Barzani added, "we contributed to bolstering our ties with the countries of the Arab world, the region, and Europe."

Barzani recalled the attacks waged against the Kurdistan region during the outgoing year and stressed that the Kurdistan region has always been a catalyst for stability in Iraq and the region and never a threat to any party, hoping peace prevails in the new year.

He also hoped the outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad to be solved on the basis of the Iraqi constitution.

Earlier today, the Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani welcomed the solar new year as an "opportunity to emphasize the culture of peaceful coexistence" in the Kurdistan region in a message he issued on new year's eve.

In the opening of his message, the Kurdish leader offered greetings to the people of the Kurdistan region and the Peshmerga fighters on the new year's beginning, praising it as an "opportunity to emphasize the culture of peaceful coexistence between the people of the Kurdistan region, who have always believed in peace, fraternity, and sought solutions via [pursuing] dialogue and renouncing extremism."

Barzani said that Baghdad and Erbil have a "new opportunity" to address their differences and reiterated his commitment to supporting the "political agreement" concluded by the forces involved in the political process in Iraq and the Kurdistan region.

The head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party hoped that the federal government's "next measures" come in line with the constitution, the interests of the Iraqis, and the principles of "partnership, balance, and consensus.

"I hope the next year is a year of prosperity and joy to all the people of the Kurdistan region and Iraq, and a year of peace and solitude for the [surrounding] region and the entire world," he concluded.