ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani arrived in Paris on Friday and was received by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace ahead of the 2024 Olympics Games opening ceremony.
Barzani is attending the ceremony following a formal invitation from Macron.
"I’m delighted to have met President @EmmanuelMacron and First Lady Brigitte Macron, and attended the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. The Games are a remarkable showcase of global unity, and Paris has once again demonstrated its inspirational spirit in bringing the world together," Barzani said in a post on X.
Dozens of world leaders are attending the ceremony. Official competitions began on Wednesday with events including soccer and rugby.
“Nechirvan Barzani can play an active role regarding the Kurds’ relations abroad,” Adel Bakawan, director of the French Centre for Research on Iraq (CFRI), told Rudaw, adding that Barzani’s invitation to Paris is very important for Kurds as a whole.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday received Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani at Elysee Palace ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympics. pic.twitter.com/d9NpRzmDcY
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) July 26, 2024
Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid was also received by Macron.
A total of 22 athletes will represent Iraq in the Paris Olympics, with the men’s soccer team accounting for 18 of them. Iraq will also compete in judo, swimming, weightlifting, and athletics, with one athlete representing the country in each sport.
On Monday, Shilan Shamal, a Kurdish woman from Diyala province, became the first Kurdish athlete to carry the Olympic torch.
The Olympic torch relay is a months-long ceremony in which athletes relay the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece, to the host city of the Olympic Games, signaling the start of the games.
Two Kurdish athletes are participating in the Olympics as part of the Iraqi national soccer team, which beat Ukraine, 2-1, in an opening-round match on Wednesday.
