Kurdistan Parliament welcomes German Parliament Social Democratic Party delegation

The Kurdistan Parliament’s Presidency and MPs on 14 September 2022 met with German MPs from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), headed by Dr. Nils Schmid, to discuss Germany’s ongoing presence in the international coalition against ISIS and areas of mutual interest and cooperation.

Speaker Dr. Rewaz Faiq thanked Germany for their assistance and training for the Peshmerga forces to contain the ongoing threat from ISIS, and Germany’s support for the Peshmerga reform process.

Speaker Faiq highlighted that Kurdistan Region is also grateful for Germany’s support in many other areas, such as assistance to IDPs, and health and training projects.

The German Parliament SPD delegation included MPs Derya Türk-Nachbaur and Michael Mueller, accompanied by the Deputy Consul General Sven Mossler and the commander of Germany’s forces in Kurdistan Region.

Speaker Faiq, Deputy Speaker Hawrami, Secretary Muna Kahveci and the other Kurdistan Parliament MPs said that the ongoing presence of the German forces is important and essential to help counter the threat from ISIS and to support the Peshmerga reform process.

Deputy Speaker Hawrami stressed that the underlying causes of the emergence of ISIS have not been addressed and ISIS’s techniques have evolved.

Ms. Türk-Nachbaur said that she was pleased to see the high ratio of women MPs in the Kurdistan Parliament.

The German parliament delegation and Kurdistan Parliament MPs discussed the global challenge of climate change and water scarcity, and Parliament’s laws to tackle these challenges. They also discussed protection of Kurdistan's component communities, including Yazidis and Christians, and the need for security and stability throughout Iraq.

Both sides agreed on the importance of bilateral cooperation in many areas.

Kurdistan Parliament MPs from several parties participated in the meeting.