The Relationship between the Kurdistan Region and the Vatican

After the war for freedom in Iraq ended, a war which was a period of great terror and violence in the country’s history, the Kurdistan Region flourished as a peaceful and stable area where not only Iraqi Christians, but many others from all walks of life, came to for protection and acceptance. The first official and publicized meeting between senior Kurdistan Region officials and the Vatican was in 2005, when President Masoud Barzani visited the Vatican and was greeted by Pope John Paul II. On February 24, 2011, Pope Benedict welcomed President Masoud Barzani on another visit.

Pope Francis had his first meeting with President Masoud Barzani on March 13, 2013, and met a second time at the Vatican on May 30, 2014. The meeting coincided with the sudden influx of refugees to the Kurdistan Region, notably from the Nineveh province. Rather than focus on bilateral relations, Pope Francis and President Masoud Barzani took the opportunity to discuss the plight of Iraqi IDPs and Syrian refugees and jointly called for the world to help.

During that visit, thousands of Christians from the Nineveh province and other areas who had fallen under ISIS control were fleeing toward the Kurdistan Region. It was then that the relationship between the Vatican and the Kurdistan Region deepened, and officials from both sides began working closely together, culminating in a decision for Pope Francis to visit the Kurdistan Region.

On March 5, 2016, Vatican Ambassador to Iraq, Alberto Martin Ortega, thanked the people and the government of the Kurdistan Region for their hospitality in welcoming such a large number of refugees, who had to abandon their homes for safety.

At the time, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met with Pope Francis on March 2, 2015, to discuss steps the Kurdistan Regional Government was taking to ensure a peaceful life for refugees and IDPs. He spoke of the situation on the ground and how hundreds of thousands of innocent people were forced to leave their homes due to ISIS and threat of terrorism, and found refuge in the Kurdistan Region.

Former Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Pope Francis then met on January 12, 2018 in Vatican City, where they discussed ties between the Kurdistan Region and the Vatican, as well as the situation for Christians in Iraq.

In December 2018, Cardinal Petro Parolin, the Vatican’s Prime Minister, visited Erbil and met with senior officials in the Kurdistan Region. In an interview with Masrour Barzani on December 27, 2018, Parolin praised the role of the Kurdistan Region in providing for refugees to the greatest ability.

Pope Francis’ Visit to the Kurdistan Region

Current Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, met with the Vatican’s Council of Justice on February 19, 2020 and presented Pope Francis a painting depicting the ethnic, religious, and cultural fabric of coexistence in the Kurdistan Region.

The Prime Minister met with Cardinal Petro Parolin, as the Kurdistan Regional Government announced its commitment to religious coexistence and called for discussions between religious representatives to foster a greater culture of acceptance, reconciliation, and harmony between the people.

Cardinal Parolin also expressed the Vatican’s support for the Kurdistan Region. He praised the people of Kurdistan’s role in the fight against terrorism and in helping protect the achievements of the Kurdistan Region. He recognised the humanitarian role the Kurdistan Regional Government played, and how it continues to promote peaceful coexistence and welcome people of all different religions and cultures, setting an example for the respect of all peoples.

 

Welcoming Ceremony for the Pope

Pope Francis will travel to the Kurdistan Region on March 7, 2021, and will meet with senior officials in the Kurdistan Region as well as visit areas where residents found refuge from terrorism and sectarianism in Iraq.

• The reception ceremony will be held at Erbil International Airport.
• On the same day, Pope Francis will visit Mosul and Qaraqosh.
• In the courtyard of Bay’aa in Mosul, Pope Francis will lead a prayer for the victims of war.
• At the Great Church of Al-Tarah in Qaraqosh, Pope Francis will lead mass.
• On the evening of the same day, Pope Francis will lead a prayer at the Franso Hariri stadium in Erbil.

Pluralism and Diversity Culture

The Kurdistan Region has been a beacon of pluralism and diversity in the region, and with the establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government in 1992, those principles were adopted by the official institutions of the region.

The Kurdistan Region celebrates the diversity of its people, and has always welcomed those who have lost their homes due to violence, political and religious persecution, and were looking to start a new life somewhere safe.

“You are the representative of peace, forgiveness and coexistence, and the role you play in this field is our pride,” Pope Benedict had told President Masoud Barzani in 2011. It was the Kurdistan Region’s welcoming nature which led the Vatican to issue this statement.

Pope Francis, in an interview with the Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on February 19, 2020, praised the role of the Kurdistan Region in confronting terrorism and in welcoming Christians, who have faced threats throughout Iraq and found safety in the Kurdistan Region.

The horrible attacks in June 2014 caused many Christians and Yezidis in Nineveh to flee to the Kurdistan Region, notably Erbil and Duhok. At that time, the Kurdistan Region was already hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria (Western Kurdistan). The Kurdistan Region continues to this day to serve and protect the hundreds of thousands of refugees and IDPs, regardless of their religious, national, and ethnic backgrounds.

The Kurdistan Region will continue to protect its land and its people, which includes Christians, Yezidis, and all minorities it has welcomed into its arms. On December 27, 2018, during his meeting with Cardinal Petro Barolin, Masrour Barzani recalled that when a group of ISIS members attacked the Kurdistan Region, and he had told his fellow Christians “We stand united, we have a common goal, so we live together and die together. The international community should protect Christians and allow them to stay on their own land, not force them to leave their homes to find safety.”

The people of Kurdistan have sacrificed a lot and understand the costs and efforts that come in the struggle to achieve peace and guarantee freedom for all those in the Kurdistan Region. The Kurdistan Region continues to look toward leaders around the world, political and religious, for their support to celebrate and promote the Kurdistan Region’s culture of tolerance, and help the Kurdistan Region strengthen ties with the world, especially with the Vatican.

The Kurdistan Region will continue to protect its Christian minority, which hold five parliamentary seats in the region’s Parliament, whose children can study in their own language and are provided special accommodations at school, which holds special status within the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, and who contribute meaningfully to the political process, holding seats in the Presidencies, Parliament, and the Council of Ministers and helping shape the history of the Kurdistan Region.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (GOV.KRD) – Prime Minister Masrour Barzani today headed a meeting of the Council of Ministers to discuss recent developments with Iraq and ongoing efforts by the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, heading the delegation leading negotiations with Baghdad, updated the cabinet on the latest progress in talks with the federal government regarding the 2021 federal budget and the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements. He also affirmed the delegation will continue pursuing discussions to find a sustainable solution based on the constitution.

As part of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s agenda, the Minister of Finance and Economy, Awat Janab, and the Minister of Planning, Dara Rashid, discussed preparations for the Kurdistan Region’s 2021 budget bill, noting that collected data from most of ministries will help draft a transparent and realistic budget.

During the meeting, Minister Rashid also presented a draft for the Kurdistan Region’s private-public partnership initiative, which was approved following deliberation among the cabinet. The Council also approved a draft law presented by Electricity Minister Kamal Mohammed Salih.

On the subject of the government’s response to the pandemic, Health Minister Saman Barzinji presented a report on the new strand of coronavirus arriving to the Kurdistan Region and the ministry’s plans to curb the spread.

Minister Education Alan Hama Saeed also assured the school year would continue, with strict health measures being taken into account to protect the safety and lives of students, teachers, and school staff.

The Council of Ministers thanked the Ministry of Health and other relevant ministries for their dedication to the health and safety of the people, and urged ministries and government offices to continue following official health guidelines, as well as asked citizens to cooperate with the Kurdistan Regional Government’s measures and guidelines to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus variant.

Baghdad, Iraq (GOV.KRD) – Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government and head of the negotiating delegation, Qubad Talabani, today met with First Deputy Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, Hassan Al-Kaabi, and Second Deputy Speaker, Dr. Bashir Hadad.

Accompanied by the heads of both the PUK and KDP parliamentary blocs, Alla Talabani and Vian Sabri, the Deputy Prime Minister highlighted the importance of ongoing talks with Baghdad and the need to strengthen cooperation between the two governments as they work to reach a mutually-beneficial agreement.

The Deputy Speaker, Hassan al-Kaabi, recognized the Kurdistan Regional Government efforts in presenting to the Iraqi Parliament all the necessary and relevant information regarding the region’s budget, revenues and expenditures, which are part of negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad regarding the 2021 federal budget bill

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (GOV.KRD) – Prime Minister Masrour Barzani today chaired a cabinet meeting to discuss ongoing efforts to prepare the Kurdistan Region’s budget bill for the 2021 fiscal year.

Minister of Finance and Economy, Awat Sheik Janab, presented a report on the current financial situation in the Kurdistan Region, and briefed Cabinet members on the Kurdistan Regional Government’s 2021 budget draft.

Cabinet members discussed potential avenues to restructure government spending and revenue streams, reduce expenditures, and limit the estimated deficit this year. The Prime Minister reiterated the government’s commitment to implementing its reform agenda in an effort to increase public revenues.

Minister of Planning, Dara Rashid, jointly reported on the Kurdistan Regional Government’s investment budget for major service projects within the framework of the 2021 budget.

Following an exchange of views, the Council of Ministers approved a timeline for the 2021 budget bill. The Supreme Economic Council will meet next week to approve the first draft of the bill.

The Cabinet also tasked the Ministries of Interior and Peshmerga with forming a joint task force to prevent irregularities and smuggling at all border crossings in the Kurdistan Region.

Cabinet members stressed the importance of enforcing previous decisions which aimed to restructure service contracts for border crossing, in line with public interests and revenues.

In the meeting, the Prime Minister congratulated Kamal Atrushi on winning the confidence of the Kurdistani Parliament for his new role as Minister of Natural Resources, and wished him success in this post.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, December 9, 2020

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani received US Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Mr. David Schenker, and his accompanying delegation including US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Mr. David Copley; the US Ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Mathew Toller; and the US Consul-General in Erbil, Mr. Rob Waller.

Discussions covered political and security developments in Iraq, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the economic situation in the country. Topics included the resurgence of terrorism – notably ISIS, Erbil-Baghdad relations, Kurdistan Region and Iraq relations with the U.S. and neighboring countries, condition of displaced people, and the recent public demonstrations in the Region.

Mr. Schenker reaffirmed US commitment to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. He expressed US support for Erbil-Baghdad negotiations to resolve issues and effectively implement agreements. He also reaffirmed continued US support to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in confronting terrorism including ISIS.

Also discussed were reform efforts and diversification of the economy. Closer attention to agriculture, manufacturing, foreign investment, and job creation was emphasized. The delegation indicated that observable progress on these topics would support the US private sector to invest in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.