Thursday 28 February 2019

Minister Mustafa continues outreach to Congress



Washington, DC, USA (us.gov.krd) – Minister Falah Mustafa, Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations, and KRG Representative to the United States Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman met with several Republican and Democratic members of Congress from key committees, as part of the Minister’s week-long visit to Washington.

Minister Mustafa thanked members of Congress for their bipartisan and consistent support to the people of Kurdistan and to the Peshmerga, and he updated each of them on the security, humanitarian, political, and economic challenges and opportunities facing the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq. In every meeting, both sides reiterated their desire for the US-Kurdistan relationship to continue to grow.

The KRG officials met separately with Senator Marsha Blackburn, Senator Jack Reed, Senator Chris Van Hollen, Senator Lindsey Graham, Senator Patty Murray, Senator Bob Menendez, Senator Ron Johnson, Senator Ben Cardin, Senator Tammy Duckworth, Senator Josh Hawley, Senator David Perdue, Senator Ted Cruz, and National Security Advisor to Senator Mitch McConnell Robert Karem. They also met with the staff of Senator Angus King and Senator Blumenthal.

The delegation also met members of the House of Representatives: Representative Elissa Slotkin, Representative André Carson, Representative Tom Malinowski, Representative Michael McCaul, and Representative Don Bacon.

Minister Mustafa and Representative Abdul Rahman held separate roundtable briefings with the staffs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as well as with State Department staffers and think tank members at the US Institute of Peace.

The delegation met with Iraqi Ambassador Fareed Yasseen and First Secretary Wathiq Ibrahim, and had a discussion with International Monetary Fund Mission Chief for Iraq Gavin Gray.

The Minister was hosted at a dinner by the US Chamber of Commerce and, separately, met with members of the US-Kurdistan Business Council.

Minister Mustafa’s visit continues through the end of the week.