President Barzani meets Italy's PM Meloni in Erbil, discusses military support

Shafaq News/ Kurdistan's President Nechirvan Barzani on Friday met with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, who has arrived in the region's capital city, Erbil, on an official visit.

"Honored to receive Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy in Erbil," President Barzani said in a tweet. 

"I reiterated my appreciation to Italy’s military and humanitarian support to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region," he added. 

"We discussed further strengthening our political, economic, and cultural ties, and other pressing issues," he concluded.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who leads the eurozone’s third-largest economy, is on a pre-Christmas visit to Italian troops posted in Iraq – her first bilateral trip outside Europe.

Meloni, who was first received by Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, said in a news conference that "Italy has always supported Iraq".

Meloni also met with her Iraqi counterpart, Mohammad Shia al-Sudani, who said Iraq was "prepared to supply Italy with what it needs in terms of oil and gas".

With output of more than 3.3 million barrels per day, Iraq is the second-largest crude producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Meloni's far-right Brothers of Italy party swept to power in September elections, forming a coalition government with the anti-immigration League and Silvio Berlusconi's right-wing Forza Italia.

She is the first woman to become Italian prime minister and heads Italy's most far-right government since World War II.

Italy is a NATO member with up to 650 personnel deployed to Iraq and Kuwait, according to the defence ministry website.

Under operation Prima Parthica, those personnel help staff multinational commands in Kuwait, Baghdad and Erbil. They also train the armed forces and police, and provide administrative support.