ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the United Arab Emirates’ deputy prime minister and minister of interior, in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to discuss the enhancement of bilateral relations and regional developments.

Both sides highlighted the importance of strengthening the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the UAE, noting opportunities for deeper coordination across multiple sectors, a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) statement detailed.

"They also exchanged views on recent developments and the political situation in Iraq and the wider region," according to the KRG statement. 

Barzani arrived in Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening for an official visit to the UAE, where he is set to discuss enhancing bilateral relations and regional developments with Emirati officials.

Relations between Abu Dhabi and Erbil have seen major improvements under the KRG’s ninth cabinet. 

In October, Prime Minister Barzani received an Emirati delegation in Erbil to discuss the expansion of bilateral cooperation and more than 30 Emiriati initiatives "designed to bring UAE expertise to the Kurdistan Region."

The projects include a centralized Performance Management System (PMS) for the KRG, which will reimagine the government’s ability to monitor its departments, and the Kurdistan Coders Program, aimed at upskilling the Kurdistan Region’s youth across all provinces in digital and coding skills.

The Emirati foreign ministry appointed Minister of State Saeed Mubarak Rashid al-Hajeri as its Envoy for Special Affairs to the Kurdistan Region in September. Hajeri led a high-level delegation, including several ministers, to Erbil, making Tuesday’s event the second key visit by UAE officials to the Kurdistan Region in just over two months.

Hajeri’s visit was preceded just days earlier in early September by a delegation from the KRG’s Board of Investment to the UAE to attend a conference promoting investment in the Kurdistan Region, with Emirati investment in the Region reportedly valued at over $3.3 billion.