As we head into 2025, the future of the U.S.-Kurdistan bilateral relationship looks bright. Opportunities for partnership are growing, and there is a deep interest among stakeholders to forge new connections that benefit both nations. The Kurdistan Regional Government is looking forward to partnering with the incoming Trump administration, U.S. businesses, and local leaders to build a stronger and more comprehensive bilateral relationship.

For the U.S.-KRG bilateral relationship to continue flourishing, it is critical that the Kurdistan Region remains safe from extremist violence. Right now, regional tensions in the Middle East are dangerously high, and extremist groups like ISIS threaten to resurge. Our goal in 2025 is to foster a deeper security partnership with the U.S. to ensure extremism does not gain a greater foothold that threatens the U.S. and the KRG alike.

Yet the KRG is not currently equipped enough on its own to tackle the threats to our region. For the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters to assume a greater role in regional peacekeeping, we need the U.S. to follow through on its commitment to provide the KRG with comprehensive air defense systems. In the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress required the Defense Department to provide these systems – yet it has not yet materialized. With these systems in place, the KRG could better defend its people and U.S. interests alike.

Beyond security, the KRG is eager to expand its economic collaboration with the U.S. The most important economic initiative to pursue in 2025 will be the reopening of the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP) to finally allow Kurdish oil to flow again. The closure of this pipeline for political reasons has created measurable harm not just for the Kurdish economy, but for the U.S. energy companies who have already invested in our region. Reopening the pipeline will create huge windfalls for the U.S. energy sector and help the Kurdish economy grow.

The KRG has more to offer than just oil and gas. The Kurdistan Region is home to a fertile agriculture sector, critical mineral mining, and a thriving hospitality industry, among other economic sectors. We hope to promote more abundant trade and cross-investment with U.S. companies to help grow both of our economies for decades to come.

In 2025, the KRG also hopes to foster greater people-to-people connections with the United States. At the highest levels, this means greater engagement among our leaders and more frequent lawmaker delegation visits between Washington and Erbil. In 2024, there were several high-profile delegation trips – including a visit from H.E. Prime Minister Barzani to Washington – that allowed both sides to share priorities and find new opportunities for collaboration. The KRG looks forward to continuing personal dialogue with the incoming Trump administration.

Additionally, we hope to foster greater connections among our citizens, as this will naturally create a deeper bilateral relationship between both nations. The Kurdish and American peoples are united in shared values, and the Kurdish diaspora in the U.S. is a vibrant, productive fabric of their communities. At the moment, KRG has launched two sister-city initiatives to foster greater cultural understanding and collaboration between Erbil, Kurdistan and Nashville, Tennessee as well as Ankawa, Kurdistan and Sterling Heights, Michigan.  In 2025, we hope to continue these initiatives to forge new, deeper bonds with more communities.

For decades, the U.S.-Kurdistan relationship has been ironclad, and it has benefited both nations enormously. We look forward to even greater cooperation and mutual growth in the new year.