ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Middle East Research Institute (MERI) kicked off its two-day forum in Erbil on Tuesday with discussions on Iraq’s regional partnerships, international engagement, and shifts in US-Iraq relations, amid escalating conflicts in the Middle East.
The MERI forum, themed “Towards Good Governance & Prosperity,” brought together global and regional diplomats, policymakers, and intellectuals to discuss Iraq and Middle Eastern challenges.
On the first day, panelists explored Iraq’s regional partnerships, international engagement, and shifts in its relationship with the United States, with discussions highlighting Iraq's evolving focus on governance, security, and economic diversification.
“Prosperity is the goal we all have to work towards. It is our dream to be prosperous in our country, but prosperity also requires sound governance,” MERI President Dlawer Ala'Aldeen told Rudaw.
“We have gone through a lot of suffering in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. We have suffered anxiety, misery, genocide, and deprivation. Therefore, we must say that if governing decisions are in our hands, we must take this country on a healthy path and good path toward prosperity,” he added.
According to the forum’s announcement, this year’s agenda includes in-depth discussions on evolving global and regional power dynamics, US policies in the Middle East, peace efforts in the Levant, Iraq’s regional role, addressing Iraq’s internal fragility, and exploring international models for financial reform. Other key topics include Iraq’s political economy, institutionalizing center-periphery relations, and promoting ethno-religious coexistence.
Among the speakers are Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani, head of Iraq's National Wisdom Movement political bloc Ammar al-Hakim, Mohamed al-Hassan, the head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), and US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski along with other politicians, diplomats, and journalists.
Rudaw Media Network is sponsoring the event.
“I would like to congratulate the Kurdistan Region on having held elections,” EU Ambassador to Iraq Thomas Seiler said during a panel on Iraq’s international partnerships, adding that the full impact of the vote will unfold in the coming years.
The Kurdistan Region held its long-awaited parliamentary elections on October 20, marking a substantial victory for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which won nearly double the votes of its rival, the PUK. Although some parties criticized the election as fraudulent, Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission has affirmed the vote's integrity and transparency.
During the panel, Dutch Ambassador Janet Alberda and Seiler highlighted improvements in Iraq’s security and discussed business and investment opportunities in the Kurdistan Region.
In the second panel, Ambassador Romanowski emphasized that the US aims to diversify its relationship with Iraq, shifting away from security focused relations.
“We want to move the relationship that we have had for the past decades or so from a very heavily security-focused relationship … to one of trade, human rights, governance, building a private sector,” Romanowski said.
The United States and Iraq agreed last month to conclude the US-led coalition’s military mission against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq within a year, transitioning efforts to a bilateral security partnership.
“The security forces in Iraq and Iraqi Kurdistan have been making progress to continue the enduring defeat of ISIS,” said Romanowski, adding that Baghdad’s push to transition its relationship with Washington to a bilateral security partnership is proof of the coalition’s effectiveness.
Meanwhile, Kataib Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian Iraqi militia, warned the US in a statement on Sunday for alleged misuse of Iraqi airspace, saying “America must pay the price for their recklessness in using Iraqi airspace.”
The statement followed Iran’s claim that Israel launched recent airstrikes against it from Iraqi airspace.
“The United States did not participate in the Israeli strikes and Iraq is a sovereign country. We don’t control Iraq’s airspace,” Romanowski reiterated, addressing Israel’s retaliatory actions against Iran.
Iraqi militia groups have repeatedly called for the withdrawal of US troops in the country, where about 2,500 US troops are deployed.
On Wednesday, the forum will address peace prospects in Syria and the Levant, shifts in Kurdistan Region politics over the next four years, reforms to Iraq’s financial system, and other key issues.
