WASHINGTON, DC, USA (us.gov.krd) - KRG Representative Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman held a series of calls with US administration officials this week from the Department of Defense, Office of the Vice President, and Department of State. In each call, Representative Abdul Rahman thanked the US for its going support to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

The Representative had a call with Simone Ledeen (pictured), who began earlier in the month as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Middle East. In their first call, Representative Abdul Rahman congratulated Deputy Assistant Secretary Ladeen on her new post and expressed the Kurdistan Region’s appreciation for the close partnership between US forces and the Peshmerga, as well as the US’ leadership in the international Coalition against ISIS. They discussed the challenges facing the Peshmerga, including a resurgent ISIS. They also discussed the economic difficulties facing Kurdistan Region, and iraq as a whole, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and fall in oil prices.

Representative Abdul Rahman also held a call with Stephen Pinkos, Senior Advisor to US Vice President Mike Pence, and Ludovic Hood, Senior Advisor for the Middle East in the Office of the Vice President, to update the VIce President’s office on developments in Kurdistan and Iraq. The American officials noted the KRG’s rapid and strong response to the coronavirus and understood the economic impact of the long lockdown in Kurdistan as well as the plunge in oil prices. They also discussed the potential for US assistance in various areas and the steps towards the formation of a new government in Iraq.

Representative Abdul Rahman also held a call with David Copley, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq Affairs. They had a wide-ranging discussion about the coronavirus, the global economy, and the government-formation process in Baghdad. Representative Abdul Rahman reiterated the KRG’s support for Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, the Prime Minister-Designate, and the need for the government formation process to be completed.