The New Region’s media partner, AVA Media, has conducted an interview with the Kurdistan Region’s Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. The interview, conducted by Hawraz Gulpi and aired on October 4, addresses a variety of topics, including the Kurdistan Region’s elections, the KRG’s work and progress, Erbil and Baghdad issues, and economic development. 

Below is the full transcript of the interview:

Q: Mr. The Prime Minister, thank you for this opportunity.

PM Barzani: Thank you very much, you are welcome.

Q: It is a delicate time. A large part of the people are interested in hearing your message, given that we are nearing elections and the election campaigns have started. Every election is decisive, but many people are of the opinion that it is the most decisive election for Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Let’s hear from you whether or not you echo this sentiment?

True. As you said, every election is decisive, this election comes at a very delicate time. Recently, there have been mounting pressure due to events unfolding in the Middle East and especially most recently in the Kurdistan Region. Therefore, I find it important that people make their decision and think about the future of the Kurdistan Region's entity. I dare say, opinions have divided over two directions; a direction which talks about surrender, elimination, and destruction, and the other that talks about a stronger Kurdistan Region entity, development, and reconstruction. The decision now lies with the people of Kurdistan about what future, for their life and this entity, they wish to have. Hence, I believe this is a very important election and we wish the people of Kurdistan will have their final say through this election.

Q: It was about Kurdistan. Is it also decisive for the KDP?

Of course, because the KDP is in the direction of reconstruction, development and a stronger Kurdistan Region entity. This is why I am saying we have been divided over two directions. On the contrary, there are parties that have attempted to weaken the Kurdistan Region's entity. It is time for the people of Kurdistan to decide which side they endorse and follow.

Q: As the Prime Minister and vice president of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, you always showed your determination that elections must be held on time without delays. However, it was delayed. In your opinion, who is to blame for procrastinating elections in Kurdistan?

Elections had to be held in 2022, but at the time the PUK was in a state of disarray. They suggested the delay of elections, saying they would not allow ballot boxes in the Sulaimani zone. In order to put the Kurdish house in order and for all the sides to take part in the elections, we consented, in order to reach an understanding so all the sides could take part in the elections. It was the KDP that kept advocating for elections, and indeed it was the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan that was not ready for the elections, until eventually they reached an agreement with a number of institutions in Baghdad to change the elections law and abolish the quota seats. By doing so, they thought it would benefit their party interests. After these things were done, they showed their readiness to enter the elections that will be held on October 20. We all wait for this election to be held on time, as scheduled.  

Q: The majority of the parties are running their election campaigns against the KDP and your excellency, why is that?

I cannot speak on people’s behalf about what the causes are. I could say what my agenda has been. We had a joint government agenda that I implemented. I have advocated for reform, advocated for eradicating corruption, advocated for diversifying the economy of the Kurdistan Region, advocated for making Kurdistan stronger and protecting the Kurdistan entity. If somebody has been against these principles, undoubtedly they would stand against these stances and programs that I advocated for and tried to execute them. Maybe some people did not like it and thought their interests were in danger, not finding themselves within the framework of the agenda that we tried to implement in this cabinet. They will undoubtedly stand against you if they think their interests are in danger. Otherwise, I never had personal interests or personal agenda to make people personally antagonize me.

Q: Are you of the idea that one of the factors behind this conspiracy against you is that you have targeted their individual and political party trade interests? 

Like I said, I have had a government agenda to carry out. This agenda very frankly details that the country and the public’s interests are above party and individual interests. In other words, if somebody does not find themselves within the framework of this agenda, and believes their personal agenda is way more important than that, their party interests are more important than that of the nation, at this point they stand against it. This could be the reason behind antagonizing us, otherwise, we have exerted our full efforts to work for the interests of the people of Kurdistan.

Q: You talked about the government partners. Some of your partners, for example the PUK which is a key part of the Kurdistan Regional Government, if you look at their election campaign slogans, they say ‘we will end it’. In your opinion, what will they end?

I believe this slogan best describes attempts of the current Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, unfortunately. This is a very inappropriate motto. What do they want to eliminate? They were partners in the government. They are citizens of this homeland. They made similar attempts in the past to eliminate it. As a matter of fact, they want to end the Kurdistan Region entity. They want to eliminate the pride of Peshmerga. They want to put an end to the economy of Kurdistan. They want to end developments and reforms. They want to end efforts in combating corruption. If this is their agenda and say they want to eliminate them, our answer to them is; you cannot. We tell them we are defending this entity and developing it. Day after day, God willing, we will make Kurdistan more prosperous.

Q: The bulk of these slogans are raised in Sulaimani province. These remarks from there are directed at Erbil, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and especially your excellency. For example, if the Kurdistan Democratic Party emerges in first place in elections in Sulaimani, what change will you make to the situation of this city and what is your message to the people of Sulaimani?

The people of Sulaimani are the beloved people of Kurdistan. There is no difference between Sulaimani, Erbil and Duhok and any other city of Kurdistan. They are all our sisters and brothers. However, administrative authorities differ from one province to another, given the presence of the political parties. The Regional Government has not been able to leverage the same authority in Sulaimani that we have done in other parts of Kurdistan, due to party authorities that have been imposed on the government institutions. They have not let us implement our agenda in Sulaimani. Rest assured, if Kurdistan is one and under one authority, the Regional Government will leverage its authorities across all the governing institutions in this Region, putting an end to extortions, terror, intimidation, and fear. Like any other parts of Kurdistan, the city of Sulaimani will see progress.

Q: Do you think the KRG’s projects have not been implemented in Halabja and Sulaimani, the way they are done in Erbil and Duhok provinces, due to a political party that hinders them?

There have been hindrances. Maybe we have not been able to put our fingers at all the points due to our nation’s supreme interests and unity. Now is the time for people to learn of the facts that there have been preventions and political party impositions on the government institutions.

Q: Has the government discriminated against provinces in its projects?

Not at all. Let me tell you frankly; we have some sources of revenue, including the public revenue that would come from oil sales. Oil sales, however, were halted as a result of efforts from some internal sides and some institutions in Baghdad, resulting in the shortfall of domestic revenues. Concerning the matter of public revenues and taxations, the income will have to be returned to the government’s treasury, for the budget that is sent to the Kurdistan Region by the federal government. It is all clear and nobody could control it. It is all too clear what the budget share of each province is. There are some other revenues that come from [border] customs in the provinces. Such revenue from Sulaimani has not been returned to the government. In other provinces, some of the projects have been funded from these revenues. Such [customs] revenues in Sulaimani had to be spent for the interests of the people of Sulaimani. It has not been done, unfortunately. This money has gone to a political party and individuals, depriving people from taking advantage of it… Revenues of the people of Sulaimani have not been returned to the government. Instead, they are used for political and party interests. They have in this way, always wanted to fool people and distort the facts. 

Q: There was an attempt to reorganize Sulaimani province's border crossings and their revenues. Even the Iraqi government had reservations on the Sulaimani province's crossings. Why did these efforts not succeed?

At a Council of Ministers meeting, we took a decision to show our goodwill. I ordered the formation of a joint force from the Ministry of Peshmerga and the Ministry of the Interior in which two PUK and KDP ministers run these ministries, to control customs revenues and put an end to corruption that was said to exist at some border crossings. In order to show goodwill, I ordered they start from Peshkhabour, and then Ibrahim Khalil and Haji Omran crossings, and finally the joint force control Bashmakh and Parvezkhan. But our friends [from the PUK] were not ready, saying this force must not be sent to them, or a civil war may occur. A civil war over what? If a joint government force and those parties who have formed the government agreed altogether to control the crossings and checkpoints to put an end to corruption and smuggling, no one would be able to combat the government force. But unfortunately, the PUK friends did not agree with this suggestion and did not let it.

Q: If we go back to the beginning of the formation of the ninth cabinet of the KRG, some people thought you were unlucky because you were faced with plenty of crises. It was said if some other countries had faced such similar crises, they would have collapsed. But you fought all of these crises and succeeded. Most of your supporters describe you as a resilient prime minister. How did you manage to overcome all of these crises successfully?

Let us look at them from a different angle. You said I was unlucky. Why do not we say that I was lucky that we managed to overcome all of these crises, despite them being plentiful. This means God was with us and supported us. The most important thing was that the people were resilient. It was the support of the people of Kurdistan that they threw behind us, paving the way for the government to overcome all of these challenges and crises. We even had achievements.

Q: Ever since you took office as the prime minister, you have been known for being very harsh against the corrupt. There is much hope pinned on you for combating the corrupt. The question is; are you satisfied with the level of the reform process within the administration system of your cabinet?

I do not know if I have been harsh or not, maybe people have different viewpoints. However, I view reform as a long-term process. It is not just that you look at the past and get the mistakes done in the past to face justice. Real reform is to prevent corruption from continuing. We have ramped up all efforts towards transparency and to make everything transparent for the people, to prevent any government employee or officials from ever thinking about corruption. Combating corruption means eradicating it. This is the best reform. Have we reached the final stage? No, we have yet to be there. 

Q: Does it mean you are not satisfied yet?

No, not yet. This is the nature of the process. We will have to have an infrastructure, especially when it comes to talking about transparency, auditing data and courses of events. You must have this infrastructure. We are in the process of building this transparency. We have taken good steps and good things have been done towards that end.

Q: There was no such infrastructure in the past?

No, in many sectors there was not.

Q: Concerning the Kurdistan Region’s relations with the federal government of Iraq, you wrote an article for The Washington Post, soon after you took office. In the article you stated that you wanted to resolve your issues with Baghdad on the basis of the constitution and your first visit as the premier was to Baghdad. At what stage is the state of the relations between Erbil and Baghdad currently? How would you assess them?

It is normal and good. We want it to be better and we always try to improve it by sending delegations of the KRG to Baghdad and receiving the federal government delegations here in Erbil. This cabinet’s tenure has seen a record number of delegation visits to Baghdad and a record number of federal delegation visits to Erbil to discuss all the existing problems between the two sides so we could solve them. The path has been discovered, so we could resolve the remaining issues.

I believe we have taken significant steps forward. A short while ago, as you saw, a delegation from the federal government’s supreme council of economy was here for two days, discussing all the problems that have remained between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad. Likewise, we have sent as many delegations as possible for the talks to continue. A few days ago, an Iraqi parliament’s economy committee was here. We had extensive talks with them as well to resolve the existing impending issues, be them misunderstandings, technical issues or whatsoever. The Kurdistan Region has shown willingness to resolve all the disputes, most notably the issue of salaries, which is viewed as the key problem by our people.

Q: You talked about the visit of the Iraq delegation, the Iraqi council of economy. As Ava Media, we published that you told the Iraqi delegation that 'people are going to Mars, and you still discuss the matter of salaries with us, which is our constitutional right'. When will the issue of salaries of the Kurdistan Region civil servants be resolved once and for all?

We are about to reach the final stage to resolve the salaries issue. Like I said, part of the problems originated from misunderstandings by the Iraqi federal government, as they thought different measures would have to be taken for the provision of salaries. The thing is, according to the constitution, a certain budget share is dedicated to the Kurdistan Region. According to the federal systems, the budget will have to be handed over to the Kurdistan Regional Government. And the Kurdistan Regional Government, its institutions, and parliament should oversee the entire process of salaries and its finances. However, there were domestic attempts, from other political parties to pull Baghdad’s hand to interfere in the details of the mechanisms of salary distribution. They made plenty of problems in order to give Baghdad excuses to stop sending salaries. It took us a long time to resolve this issue and use the constitution as a basis to resolve the issue of salaries of the Kurdistan Region. I have said time and again, our problem is not just salaries, but many other issues including the matterr of disputed areas, the matter of the public budget, Peshmerga, the compensation of the families of Anfal [genocide] victims and many other issues that are stipulated in the constitution. All of these problems have not been resolved yet. The subject of the land and identity… they have not been resolved yet. Despite all that, we advocated for prioritizing the interests of the people above all the other matters, in order to lift pressures on people. We showed our readiness to take additional steps and discuss many things frankly with them, and for them to come to discuss all the details with us, to learn of the Kurdistan Region’s goodwill. We want to pay the salaries of the people of the Kurdistan Region the way they are and should be.

On the judiciary level, it was decided that salaries must not be mixed with political rivalries between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. We have advocated for that, and I believe we have reached the final stage for a grassroot solution for the issue of salaries. The only problem existing now is a technical one. We are about to resolve it as well. I hope the matter of salaries is no longer a thing that creates problems and distracts people. 

Q: You hinted at internal hands. Many attempts were made to divide the Kurdistan Region and make Baghdad deal with the provinces of the Kurdistan Region directly. Even many of the political parties' slogans in the previous elections were that they promised people they would make salaries be sent directly from Baghdad to civil servants, for example, for civil servants in Sulaimani to receive salaries directly from Baghdad. However, all of these efforts were foiled and Baghdad eventually decided to deal only with Erbil, as the capital. Why were such attempts made?

There were two things; first, the Kurdistan Region does not belong to an individual or a political party to divide Kurdistan, and this is a reality. Neither the people of Kurdistan, nor do we accept it. Kurdistan is not ownerless. Kurdistan is built with tears, blood of martyrs and sacrifices of this nation. How come somebody come forward and say I will divide Kurdistan for my interests? It is never going to happen. Kurdistan has protectors, owners and a nation to defend it.

Second; constitution. The Kurdistan Region is a united unity, according to the constitution, meaning that nobody could make a decision contrary to it. Therefore, the Iraqi government cannot function irrespective of  the constitution. They also knew that such efforts that they made were too futile. They were efforts made in the interest of some certain sides. They got busy with it for sometime and eventually the nation of Kurdistan succeeded.

Q: To what extent your good relations with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani were a factor for resolving the issues? When a problem is solved, all the political parties claim they contributed to it, and when a problem arises, they blame the government, accusing the prime minister of it.

May God solve all the problems, let them claim to own it, it is not a problem. People know who tried to, and sacrificed for the pride of the people of Kurdistan. We want the pride of the people of Kurdistan. We even want the opposition parties and those who talk against us to live proudly within our constitutional entity, God willing. Undoubtedly, direct contacts with Mr. Prime Minister [of Iraq] is at a very good level and it has been very helpful. He also has wanted for the problems to be resolved, playing a significant role in making others in the relevant ministries to work for resolving the disputes. We shared a similar sentiment that Erbil-Baghdad ties must be strengthened, and Kurdistan-Iraq ties must be strengthened for both sides to capitalize on them.  

Q: With respect to the matter of service projects, on several occasions you have said it is illogical that after 30 years, basic services such as water and electricity have not been solved. Are you determined that you carry the responsibility of resolving these problems in the future? 

There is no doubt that the subjects of electricity and water had to be resolved a long time ago. However, there were problems in the way of resolving them. It is in the government’s agenda to tackle them. Let me start off with electricity. We made plentiful efforts to increase energy production resources, especially from gas and solar energy, air or water. When you increase production in these resources, you could have energy resources. This is part of the government’s agenda and we continue working on them, but they take time. Other subjects are reforms or reorganizing the infrastructure of the electricity sector especially in the materials used, or how to deal with citizens and provide 24-hour electricity, in coordination with the public. This test has started in Erbil. Two neighborhoods are given 24-hour electricity which I believe they are very satisfied with and you could talk to them. They have been given access to full electricity with less costs, less nasty smells, and less sound of generators. They have gotten rid of all of these issues. 

The government is able to provide 24-hour electricity across Erbil, in the near future, God willing, and across Kurdistan in two years…These projects take time. We have started it and taken significant steps towards that end. We have made crucial changes to the electricity infrastructure, limiting its waste. We have made good reforms in it, and the next step is to provide 24-hour electricity to our citizens. This is particularly in the interest of low-income citizens. We will serve them more. All the other sides, especially companies and factories will too have access to it. We hope and have plans to provide 24-hour electricity across Kurdistan. The same thing regarding water; it is one of the essentials of life. Water is life. We must provide it, especially drinking water. We have built projects across the cities. As you witness it, we recently began building an emergency project to provide water for Erbil, a project which will end water scarcity in Erbil for the next 30 years. They were two projects; they are both currently under construction to provide water for Erbil. Similar things are done in other cities including Akre and Chamchamal to continue to provide water. Additionally, we have built dams for the purpose of agriculture, tourism, energy, increasing underground water and combating drought and climate change. All of these problems are highly anticipated. We have taken significant steps and I am confident that the people of Kurdistan will witness the results.

Q: In terms of economic infrastructure, despite all the various crises, as you mentioned, there has been good coordination between the private sector and the government and you have worked on developing them. How did you manage to sustain these projects, despite these crises?

I will have to thank the private sector. After the commencement of this cabinet, as you just said, we faced coronavirus and the global weakness of economic movements. We felt like if the private sector was not cooperative with the government, we would face large issues. Thankfully, the private sector, businessmen and entrepreneurs of Kurdistan reached out to the government’s call for coordination, helping build strong relationships between the government and the private sector. It was crucial because it built trust. We ended the distrust that had existed with the private sector. They were ready to coordinate with the government to carry out many of the projects that the government did not have the necessary budget at our disposal to fund them. Most of them were carried out from their own fundings. We managed to develop many of these projects and some of them are still under construction. 

Q: In terms of agriculture, even your rivals admit that you have taken big steps in this sector and in guaranteeing water security. What pushed you to make these two sectors your top priorities? I remember that since day one, you have been saying that agriculture is the future, not oil.

We have a fertile land. God has given us many blessings, but why have we not necessarily capitalized on them? I believe people have had other sources. But now, we will have to think about how to take advantage of natural resources in the best way possible. One of the never-ending natural resources is agriculture. We should be able to develop this sector so a lot of people could take advantage of the agricultural products, and we could establish food security for the Kurdistan Region and turn Kurdistan into a food basket to provide food security for other places as well. This will pave the way to strengthen the Kurdistan Region’s position in many ways, including creating more jobs, sending farmers back to agricultural works and resume farming. By doing so, incomes for citizens will increase, and it will mark a beginning to progress in other sectors, too. We succeeded in operating the industry sector, and exporting our products abroad. These things all help create jobs and stir trade movements. We succeeded in all that. Yet, we have more programs that, God willing, will begin… Agriculture is the foundation of economic infrastructure development of any country, if there are compatible grounds for it. Undoubtedly, water is also important for life and needed for agriculture, tourism, and energy. Water is a blessing in every way, therefore, we have to pay much attention to it. Concerning climate change, we have taken good steps in the Kurdistan Region and we predict that the Kurdistan Region can weather the consequences of the climate change. Unlike Iraq that has considerably been affected by climate change, we will not be affected. Climate change has affected other parts of the world, too.

Q: All the projects that you talked about would not make progress without a banking system and digitization. Are the digitization of the government institutions and the My Account initiative important projects of the government?

First of all, let it be clear, when we talk about the My Account project, the digitization of the banking system and digitizing the services system, they are all meant to make people satisfied and have a more prosperous and easier life. Such steps that we have taken indicate our top priority is to serve citizens and make people be satisfied with this lifestyle and make their life easier. We have made the provision of services easier, including improving the banking system so people could benefit from it. Regarding the My Account project, it is a process, like I have mentioned before, to benefit people. First of all, no-one could take people hostage in order to give them their salaries and tell them you have to have similar political opinions or I will not pay your salary. This system will put an end to this thing and people will not be obliged to follow a certain political opinion in order to get their livelihood. Part of the importance of this project is that people will have the liberty of who they choose to side with or how they want to be, and nobody could control them…Another importance of this project is that people will have access to banking services. Citizens are so far limited to deal only with cash. But, when you have an advanced banking system, you could borrow loans, you could be connected with the entire world, not just here. You could benefit from the bank credit system. There are many other banking services that benefit people. However, many people stood against this project. I dare say, they either do not know what are the benefits of this process and have no knowledge about it and stand against it in a random way, or they know very well how useful it is and the person who is behind this project aims to serve people. They think, as long as they have not taken part in this initiative and someone else has taken it, it should not succeed. This is why they are opposing this project. Trust me, this is the best project for our citizens. Third, this project brings about transparency, prevents corruption, nobody could resort to money laundering, and nobody could tamper with employees’ salaries. All these precautions are  closely, and precisely monitored not only in Iraq and by the authorized banks in the Kurdistan Region, but on an international level. Such things will all be in the interests of the people of Kurdistan in the future.  

Q: Does it mean it is better than that of Iraq's Tawteen Account in terms of services?

In terms of services, My Account project has more services. Through My Account, employees could take advantage of much more services that banks provide. 

Q: Concerning relations between the Kurdistan Region and other countries, it was said in the beginning that the Kurdistan Region had lost many friends on the international level. But we witnessed that under your leadership, leaders of two powerful regional countries came to Kurdistan and you received them. At what stage are the diplomatic relations in your cabinet? Do you have more or less friends?

I believe this achievement belongs to all of us. I do not want to say this is an achievement of my cabinet alone. There has been a joint leadership on how to advance our relations with the outside world. Thanks be to God, we have managed to take these relations to a much higher level. When the Kurdistan Region is dealt with, an entity is dealt with which is at the level of the independent countries. Therefore, I am very pleased that the level of the relationships is very good. We are grateful that our friends and allies, and those who have relations with the Kurdistan Region admit that the Kurdistan Region is a safe place and could play a positive and good role in advancing the bulk of matters across the Middle East. 

Q: Despite all the tensions and conflicts gripping our surroundings, how would you assure the people of Kurdistan that our stability will not be affected?

With the help of God and the support of our people, the matter of stability has always been a key priority for us and will always be in the future. We are not ready to sacrifice the security and stability of Kurdistan for any other subject. We could capitalize on the contemporary technology and make use of the experience of other sides in order to enhance the degree of stability in Kurdistan. All of these things have already been studied and worked on and we are ready to continue working on them. I say it again, a key factor contributing to our stability is the Peshmerga. Peshmerga and security forces of the Kurdistan Region serve the people of Kurdistan, this land and entity, so we could live with dignity and for us to continue serving. Therefore, we have to thank the Peshmerga and security forces in advance. The understanding and support of our people is another major factor for stability in the Kurdistan Region. 

Q: All predictions on the current situation in the Middle East are that the region will be facing a wider war. A key and difficult task that you will be dealing with is how to protect the Kurdistan Region so it will not be involved in the tensions and issues. How would you avoid it from a potential spillover of a wider conflict?

We do not want to get involved in any kind of conflict. I do not believe wars will lead to resolving any issues in the Middle East, or any other part of the world. Wars are not a solution. Countries and groups fight, but they eventually have to reconcile and talk to resolve their disputes. Therefore, why not resolve the disputes through dialogue in the first place? In the Kurdistan Region, we have a strong belief that Kurdistan must not be entangled in any regional issues and it must be protected. We do not have to become a source of threat to any side, nor do we want anyone to become a source of threat to the interests of the Kurdistan Region.

Q: What is your vision for the future of Kurdistan?

With God’s support, we have programs to pay more attention to the development and progress of Kurdistan and learn from our past experiences. I want us all to focus on the future. The people and the youth of Kurdistan should focus on the future, focus on where we move forward and where we go. What has been done, be it good or bad, is all clear for the people. However, what will be done from now is very important. Thus, we have plans. We do not say we will eliminate it, we do not say we will destroy it, and we do not say we will end it. But rather, we say we will keep moving forward, making it more prosperous and we will make it way better across all walks of life. In terms of economic diversification, we have a plan, including the sectors of agriculture, tourism, and industry. We want to pay more attention to the industry sector in the future to create more jobs and develop skills in this sector in Kurdistan. These are part of the projects that we want to have in the future. In terms of the health sector, we have made great efforts, but more has yet to be done to provide better health services, not just to the people of Kurdistan, but rather we eye reaching an international standard to help other people as well. Concerning education, significant steps have been taken. We want education to be at a level where the people in Kurdistan can really improve themselves. We want to provide them with the tools, whether it is education or higher education… In terms of reconstruction, too many things have been done. Roads have been significantly widened. We want the quality of the roads to be at an international standard level. We have started. You could see streets and two-sided roads being built. Their qualities are better. We want to make use of the technology and experience of other countries day after day to develop reconstruction projects, architecture, build centres, digitise data and information. We have all of these programs on our agenda. Another point that I want to talk about is what we wish to do in the future. We want to bolster the good relations that we have established with the Baghdad government. We have visited Baghdad many times, including myself. We have tried to build the best relationship. Some of the problems which arose due to misunderstandings, have been resolved. Based on understanding, we want to make the Kurdistan Region a symbol and a great example of development so other parties across Iraq could imitate us to transfer and copy our experience to other parts of Iraq. Strengthening relationships with the federal government will be one of our plans in the future, God willing. I would like to reiterate it once again, our citizens are our priority. We want to make our citizens satisfied. We will do whatever possible in the interest of our people and make them our top priority. 

Q: Where do you see the position of the youth in your vision for the future of Kurdistan?

Of course, the future means youth. We could make use of their potential. We have already begun it and in my office, there are too many strong youths not to learn alone, but rather, they have also been helpful in carrying out projects that have been done, and they have done their part significantly. The youth, undoubtedly, could play a crucial role. But this is a two-sided thing and I have mentioned it many times. The government can help the youth, but the youth must also be ready to play their role in innovation, work, helping and teamwork and coordinate with the government. The youth are at the center of our attention in the future, of course. 

Q: We have heard from you that youth is the dynamo of success.

True, of course

Q: We have a large number of first-time voters for this election. What is your message for them?

Our youth are intelligent and understanding. There are too many things available for them to see the reality. Let them not make their minds by following slogans, but rather see the actions. Let them see who serves citizens, who serves the youth, who draws a bright future for them and fulfills their promises. If the youth want to have a promising future, a better life, prosperity and a future where they find themselves in it, let them be on our side, so we could together help build a more prosperous, more stable and and better country. 

Q: Has the kind of coordination you said you built with the private sector helped create jobs for the youth?

Most of the plans and programs I talked about will create jobs. Of course, those who want to work, could seize these opportunities and work. We have another system to fund small-scale businesses and we announced that youth could start up businesses with the help of the government. I have seen many examples in the cities upon my visits. I have seen many youth who have benefited from these programs. I have seen youth who have started up their own businesses. This is the best thing that we could do to help our youth establish their small and medium-sized businesses. If the youth are ready, the government is too ready to support them. Through improving the banking system, we could give them access to banking services so they could have their own businesses, and progress in a way that they will be well-known on an international level, too. We will put in place programs that require young people to make the best use of the government's agenda and services.

Q: What is your message for women?

We all say women constitute half of the society, in their rights and responsibilities. In order for women to play greater roles and have their rights protected, they must do their parts. I am pleased that women actively participate in elections and they decide on their fate and do not leave everything for men to decide on their behalf. Women could do it themselves. We have many strong women and they could be influential. We have too many examples of successful women. I am proud of Kurdish women and I am sure they could do much greater jobs. 

Q: Do you have plans to increase the number of female ministers in your next government cabinet?

We have three female ministers in this cabinet. I do not want to just say that women should become ministers, but very strong women should and I do not care if half of the ministers are women. I do not have a problem with that. Strong women should play their roles.

Q: Thank you very much Mr. Masrour Barzani, the Prime Minister of Kurdisan for your first interview with Ava Media.

Thank you very much