ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - In an effort to strengthen trade ties between Italy and the Kurdistan Region, a high-profile delegation from Erbil will visit Rome on Monday, an official old The New Region.

The delegation is led by Mohammed Shukri, head of the KRG’s Investment Board, and Safeen Dizayee, head of the KRG’s Department of Foreign Relations, and is joined by more than 20 businessmen.

“The delegation will hold meetings with the government and private sector of Italy,” said Bargasht Akraiy, spokesperson of the KRG’s Investment Board. 

Akraiy added that “in the future, Italian businessmen and investors will visit the Kurdistan Region to see investment opportunities.” 

The visit comes within the framework of the KRG’s key objective of diversifying the economy and sources of revenue.  

Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani headed a delegation that consisted of eleven Kurdish investors and businessmen for the World Economic Forum that was held in late January in Davos, meeting world leaders to build stronger relations with the international comunity, especially in the sectors of trade and investment, and develop the economy of the Kurdistan Region. 

Italy and the Kurdistan Region have maintained strong ties since the collapse of the former Baath regime in 2003.

Italy has a consulate general in Erbil, and the KRG has its representation office in Rome. 

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited the Kurdistan Region in late December 2022, meeting top Kurdish leaders, including President Nechirvan Barzani and PM Barzani. 

Italy has also been a member of the US-led coalition against ISIS since 2014. The European country has nearly 1,000 troops in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. They are tasked with providing military advice and training to the Peshmerga forces.