ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani headed to Bahrain on Monday, on an official invitation from Manama, to discuss enhancing bilateral relations between both sides and regional developments in the wake of the Damascus regime's downfall.
"The visit aims to strengthen bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region and the Kingdom of Bahrain, and discuss the latest developments in the Middle East,” read a statement from the Prime Minister’s media office.
“This visit is part of ongoing efforts from the Prime Minister to enhance and bolster relations between the Kurdistan Region and the Gulf states,” the statement added.
During the two-day visit, Prime Minister Barzani will “meet with Bahrain’s top authorities to discuss the important regional matters, especially the developments in Syria.”
Anti-government groups spearheaded by the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on Sunday took over the Syrian capital city of Damascus, after nearly a two-week offensive, sending Assad fleeing and ending over two decades of his rule and half a century of the Baath party rule in the country.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Sunday said that “fast developments and the fall of the authoritarian regime of Syria has brought about a new era.”
“We are respecting the decision and will of the people of Syria, and we hope the future Syria will be free, calm, democratic, and stable where all the nations and components will have their rights preserved,” the KRG said.
The Kurdistan Region Presidency, for its part, urged all parties in Syria to engage in dialogue and work toward finding peaceful solutions.
“Although the developments are fast, we stress the importance of unifying regional and international efforts to ensure a stable future for Syria,” the presidency said.
Due to the nearly 14-year-long turmoil at home, Syrian refugees have sought asylum across the world, with 73 percent hosted by neighboring countries. Turkey hosts the largest population of Syrian refugees, with more than 3.3 million refugees, and around 280,000 Syrians sought refuge in Iraq, according to the UN, with the majority of them in the Kurdistan Region.
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