ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Wednesday held a phone call with Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss the ongoing regional conflict, with the pair stressing "bilateral cooperation and coordination" to preserve stability.

Both the Kurdistan Region and the UAE have been targeted by Iranian missiles since the outbreak of a conflict that began Friday with joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, leading to a wave of retaliatory missile launches by Tehran that have targeted US military bases across the region.

"We discussed the situation in the region, particularly in the UAE, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and developments in recent days in the conflict," Barzani wrote on X. "We both expressed concern over the attacks and escalations."

Barzani, who earlier in the day held a phone call with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss the continuing escalations, also said that the two officials stressed "the importance of strengthening bilateral cooperation and coordination to reduce threats and tensions and maintain peace, security and stability in the region."

Areas of the Kurdistan Region have been repeatedly struck during the conflict, with targets including the US Consulate in Erbil, Erbil International Airport, as well as several bases belonging to Iranian-Kurdish dissident groups in the Kurdistan Region.

Pro-Iran militias in Iraq have joined the fray on behalf of Iran by targeting areas in the Region, leading Prime Minister Barzani on Tuesday to say that that Erbil has become a target for "terrorist" groups amid the ongoing regional escalations, urging Baghdad to prevent such attacks as Erbil cannot remain silent for long.

"It is unfortunate that our region is going through these difficult times, but even more unfortunate is that in recent days, some outlaw and terrorist parties have targeted Erbil," he said.

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

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.

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.