Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani received Dr. Oskar Wüstinger, the Ambassador of Austria to Jordan and Iraq, in Erbil.
The meeting focused on the old and friendly relations that exist between the Kurdistan Region and Austria and the mutual willingness to expand ties in the areas of trade and investment opportunities for Austrian businesses in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.
Ambassador Wüstinger expressed his delight with reconstruction and developments in the Kurdistan Region, and commended the role of the Peshmarga in defeating ISIS.
Discussions also shed light on the Austrian commercial delegation currently visiting the Kurdistan Region, accompanied by Ambassador Wüstinger, and their meeting on Tuesday with a number of entrepreneurs and businessmen in the Kurdistan Region. The members of the delegation have expressed their hope to return to the Kurdistan Region to implement business projects.
President Nechirvan Barzani commended Austria’s support to the Kurdistan Region people, referring particularly to the 1970s, when Austria was one of the first countries granting asylum to refugees from Kurdistan. The President also mentioned Austrian Airline’s direct flights between Erbil and Vienna as an important bridge connecting theRegion to the world.
Discussions also covered the activities of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s representation in Vienna, the current situation of COVID-19 in Kurdistan and Austria, the war on terrorism and the threats of ISIS, relations with the neighboring countries, and other topics of mutual interest.