On Monday, President Masoud Barzani received a delegation from Canada’s Parliamentary Friends of the Kurds group at Barzani Headquarters in Pirmam.

The delegation included members of Canada’s Parliament Ziad Aboultaif and Ahmad Hussen, the latter of whom formerly served as Canada’s Minister of International Development.

During the meeting, the members of the delegation expressed their pleasure at meeting President Barzani and praised the resilience of the people of Kurdistan. They also acknowledged the struggle and sacrifices of the Kurdish people, as well as the bravery of the Peshmerga forces in the fight against the ISIS terrorist organization.

The delegation provided a brief overview of the activities of the Friends of the Kurds group in Canada’s Parliament and highlighted its coordination with Kurdish diaspora federations. 

The group was first established in 2016, and revived with support of the Kurdish Diaspora Confederation last year.

The members of the delegation noted the important role of these federations in supporting the Kurdish people, and expressed their desire to further expand relations between the Kurdistan Region and Canada, particularly in the fields of economy and technology.

For his part, President Barzani thanked the people and Government of Canada for their support and cooperation at various stages, especially their support for the people of Kurdistan and the Peshmerga forces during the war against ISIS. President Barzani reaffirmed his support for strengthening the friendship and relations between the people of Kurdistan and the people of Canada, emphasizing the importance of continued efforts in this regard.

Last year, Canada closed its Embassy Office in Erbil due to changes in the security landscape. However, Canada still has an Ambassador in Baghdad that occasionally visits the Kurdistan Region.