It was the Iraqi Kurdistan region in Northern Iraq that hosted Ambassador Maurizio Greganti’s first mission outside the capital Baghdad. During the five days of his stay, accompanied by the Consul in Erbil Michele Camerota and the Defense Attaché of the Embassy, Col. Luigi Sambin, the Ambassador had meetings with the main Authorities of the Autonomous Region, such as the President of Kurdistan Nechirvan Barzani, Vice President Sheikh Jaafar, Minister of Interior Rebar Ahmed, Minister for Peshmerga Shoresh Ismail, President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (PDK) Massoud Barzani and the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Bafel Talabani, the Governor of the Province of Suleimaniya, Haval Abubaker, as well as numerous exponents of local civil society – such as the Chaldean-Catholic Archbishop, Bashar Warda – and Italian officials working in UN agencies in the Region.
On the sidelines of the mission, the Ambassador visited the Italian contingent at Camp Singara, welcomed by the Commander of the Contingent, Col. Domenico Di Biase, and participated in the ceremony for the handover to the incoming Commander, Col. Miglio.
He also took part as guest of honor in the roundtable organized by the Middle East Research Institute of Erbil.
Ambassador Greganti was able to personally verify the impact of the collaboration between Italy and Kurdistan, starting with the Italian efforts to stabilize the Region and the whole of Iraq. Great appreciation and gratitude was expressed by the local Authorities for the Italian commitment in the fight against Daesh within the Global Coalition (whose Ministerial meeting took place in Rome last June) – with Italy being one of the largest contributors in terms of troops and having contributed to the training of over 130,000 peshmerga and Iraqi soldiers.
In his talks, the Ambassador was able to confirm the importance of the Italian-Iraqi relationship, as shown during the visit of Minister Luigi Di Maio last December, and reaffirm Italy’s full support for the defeat of Daesh also in the context of the NATO Mission in Iraq, whose leadership will pass onto Italy starting from May 2022. Also regarding the political process, Italy will continue to support Iraqi efforts, as happened during the electoral process with the Italian participation in the EU Electoral Observation mission.
The Ambassador underlined the strategic importance of Iraq also from an economic and commercial point of view, with Iraq being the third energy supplier for Italy and hosting a number of Italian companies in its territory. Iraq – added the Ambassador – could always count on the skills and readiness of Italy and its companies even in the most critical periods of its history, as demonstrated by the renovation and safety works of the Mosul dam, which took place under the threat of Daesh. As for the future, Italian companies look with confidence to the possibilities offered by the reconstruction of the Country and the great potential of cooperation in Kurdistan in the fields of construction, agribusiness, infrastructure, architecture and tourism.
Tourism, and cultural tourism in particular, is one of the most promising sectors in Iraq, a pivotal Country for the development of the most ancient civilizations in the Euro-Asian area. To bring to light its immense artistic and archaeological heritage, Italy has more than ten archaeological missions funded by the Farnesina, with the involvement of several Italian universities and the Special Unit of the Carabinieri for the Protection of Cultural Heritage. Among these, the Ambassador was able to personally admire the findings of the mission of the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, currently preserved in the National Museum of Suleimaniya.
Iraq is also a priority country for Italian development cooperation, which invested nearly 300 million Euros in over fifteen years. The main projects focus on the return of displaced people to their homes in the areas most affected by Daesh, as well as the rehabilitation of essential services, basic infrastructure, support services for the economy, education and the health system. Among these programs, two stand out: the development of services to support women victims of gender-based violence in Kurdistan together with UN Women and the reconstruction of the university library in Mosul as part of the UNESCO project “Revive the Spirit of Mosul”.
