ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday received a delegation from the UK parliament's Kurdistan All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) headed by UK MP John Slinger.

During the meeting, the APPG reiterated their commitment to supporting the Kurdistan Region and their working toward "strengthening UK's relations with the Kurdistan Region across various fields," read a statement by the Prime Minister's office.

The Kurdish premier thanked the group for their "support toward the Kurdistan Region and the rights of Kurdish people"

The group headed by Slinger held a meeting in January with the High Representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the United Kingdom Karwan Jamal Tahir, discussing the formation of the Kurdistan Region’s new government cabinet.

All-Party Parliamentary Groups in the UK parliament are non-party specific groups with no official status within the parliament, they consist of members from different parties within the parliament.

The APPG on Kurdistan was formed in 2007, and the group has been active in the UK parliament since.

The United Kingdom is a close ally of the Kurdistan Region, with the two sides having cooperated numerous times to curb illegal migration. In late November, the British government announced reaching a “world-first” security agreement with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, aimed at combating irregular migration and other border security concerns.

The meeting also saw talks around the Kurdistan Region's relations with Iraq and "providing the constitutional and financial rights of the Kurdish people." The importance of resuming the Region's oil exports was another axis of discussion.