On the last leg of his trip to Italy, President Nechirvan Barzani met with Mr. Guido Crosetto, the Defense Minister of Italy in Rome Thursday. The President expressed his gratitude for Italy’s military support to the Peshmarga in the war against ISIS and looked forward to continued security and military partnership of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with Italy.

For his part, the Italian Minister of Defense expressed his country’s praise for the role of the Kurdistan Region in improving the security and stability of Iraq and the wider region, and in fighting terrorism. He also thanked the Kurdistan Region for cooperation and coordination with the Italian forces in the Kurdistan Region.

Furthermore, both sides expressed their willingness to continue cooperation on security and fighting terrorism, and agreed that the economic conditions and security are interconnected; therefore it is imperative to strengthen the economy of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

They also exchanged views on the latest developments in the wider region.