Barzani arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday on his first visit to the Iraqi capital in six years. He was received by Sudani and will meet with a number of senior Iraqi officials to discuss numerous topics including Erbil-Baghdad ties.
“We had a constructive and purposeful dialogue on various internal issues and regional situations,” Sudani said following the meeting, labeling the Kurdish leader’s visit “important”.
Sudani stressed that “important strides” have been made in building confidence between the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), adding that both governments have “overcome inherited problems.”
Barzani is the leader of the KDP which holds the most seats in the Iraqi parliament of all parties from the Kurdistan Region.
“My visit to Baghdad aims to strengthen efforts made by the prime minister that led to a real breakthrough between the federal government and the [Kurdistan] Region,” Barzani said after meeting Sudani.
He labeled his dialogue with the Iraqi premier as “constructive”, saying both sides have shared identical views in the discussions and praising the current government of Sudani.
As part of his visit, Barzani will meet with head of Fatih Alliance Hadi al-Amiri, as well as former prime minister of and the leader of the State of Law Coalition Nouri al-Maliki, in addition to former premier and leader of the Victory Party Haider al-Abadi and other political leaders.
Barzani’s last visit to Baghdad was in November 2018. He was welcomed by Mohammed al-Halbousi, then-speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Amiri, and a number of ministers and officials at Baghdad International Airport.
