Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the strength of the bilateral relationship between the UK and the Kurdistan region in Iraq; and if she will make a statement.

We have a close and strategic relationship with the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq. The Kurdistan Regional Government is a close ally in the fight against Daesh and we continue to cooperate closely on security and wider issues. UK Ministerial engagement is strong. The President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nechirvan Barzani, visited the UK in September 2021. In April 2022, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Masrour Barzani, visited the UK. Both met the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, amongst others.