President Nechirvan Barzani received the first, second and third highest ranking high school graduates in the Kurdistan Region, along with their parents and relatives, in Erbil on Monday.

In a meeting attended by the Minister of Education and a number of officials of the Ministry, President Nechirvan Barzani delivered a speech in which he warmly congratulated the graduates and wished them success.

The President said that the Kurdistan Region is proud of them and their families, and assured them that scholarships are available for all graduates of this year’s first, second and third high school students to continue their studies in local and foreign universities. For this purpose, the President instructed the Minister of Education of the Kurdistan Regional Government to oversee the process.

President Nechirvan Barzani thanked and congratulated the families of the graduates, their teachers, the Minister of Education and the staff of the Ministry, and commended them as part of the success, stressing that High school graduates are the future leaders of the country who can serve the people and their nation. The President also expressed his appreciation for the hard work of the graduates.

For his part, Mr. Alan Hama Saeed, Minister of Education, the graduates and their families, expressed their gratitude to the President of the Kurdistan Region for the scholarship, support and encouragement.

The meeting also highlighted views on the education process, its challenges, job opportunities for university graduates and other issues related to education and the education process.

Below is a readout of the speech delivered by the President at the reception:

“Welcome everyone. Wherever in Kurdistan you come from, you are warmly welcome. I want to congratulate you all. I hope you will be successful. You have successfully completed a very important stage of your life, and I hope you will continue your studies and complete other stages of your education as successfully.”

The President also praised the families of the graduates and said: “Without the support of your families, parents and relatives, I am sure you could not have achieved this victory today. I sincerely congratulate them too and wish them further joy and success.”

The President also told the graduates: “You have certainly made many sacrifices to achieve this. We are really proud of you. Kurdistan needs you today. Today’s Kurdistan needs you to arm yourselves with the power of pen and with knowledge.”

“You are the future of this country. The future of this country is in your hands. It is a pleasure to see that many women and girls are among the highest ranking graduates. The future of this nation is in your hands and the future of this nation at this stage is science, education and self-education, so that we can catch up with the developed countries. Raise this flag and make Kurdistan proud; take it forward to new levels; the future belongs to you.”

President Nechirvan Barzani also thanked the Ministry and its staff, saying: “I would like to thank the Minister, the Deputy Minister and all those who have worked hard with you, but I have a special thanks to your teachers which I would like to convey to them and thank them and tell them that we thank you for your efforts, we thank you that you never allowed the education process in Kurdistan to stop, as you continued your mission.”

In conclusion, the President told the graduates: “Rest assured that you are a source of pride for Kurdistan with all its communities. This trust is in your hands; take this trust and continue with all your strength and ability. Once again, I wish you success, and welcome all again.”