A virtual study session organized by the Communist Party of China for the Iraqi Political Parties on the Road and Belt Initiative

A KDP delegation headed by Hoshyar Siwaily participated in a virtual study conference organized by the Communist Party of the People’s Republic of China with the Iraqi political parties. The main theme of the conference was to discuss and highlight the future prospects of relations between Iraq and China within the framework of the Road and Belt Initiative and the current agreement between the two countries.

The conference started on 30 November and continued for three days in which the Chinse Assistant Foreign Minister, ZU Rui and ZHANG Jianwei delivered speeches. They reiterated their country’s support for Iraq and regarded the implementation of Road and Belt projects in the interest of both Chia and Iraq.

In our statement, we highlighted the importance of the conference to strengthen relations between the People’s Republic of China and Iraq while showing the Kurdistan Region’s eagerness to make the Road and Belt Initiative a success in Iraq and our Region. 

The other members of the KDP delegation, Abdulsalam Abdullah, Kifah Mahmoud and Sheelan Bibani, contributed considerably to the debates.

 

 

The KDP Statement was followed:

Your Excellency, Zu Rui, Assistant Minister of the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party

Your Excellency, ZHANG Jianwei, Director General of the Department of West Asia and North Africa

Ladies and gentlemen in West Asia and North Africa Department

Ladies and gentlemen in the Iraqi political parties

Ladies and gentlemen in the Kurdish political parties

 

Greetings

At the outset, allow me to extend my thanks and appreciation to the friendly Chinese Communist Party for inviting our party to this session and their great interest in the relations between our two parties. I would also like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the Director General of the Department of West Asia and North Africa, Mr. Zhang Jianwei and all his staff in the department for their great efforts to strengthening relationships between our two parties.

I am also pleased to convey to you the warm greetings of the political leadership of our party to all participants and their wishes for making this session a success.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Chinese Communist Party’s hosting of this virtual study session with the Iraqi political parties comes during the difficult times that the world is going through due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the health conditions, and the economic challenges facing the world. While these conditions have created miseries and challenges, they have also provided a window through which the international community should asses the global response to this global challenge and learn from them. While we all pleased about the good news on developing vaccines to limit its spread, we hope that there will be more international cooperation on providing vaccines to all, especially to countries and people with limited financial capabilities.

Today, in light of the developments and changes taking place in the world, we believe it is necessary for all of us to work on building relationships on solid foundations and to invest all available options in order to agree on mechanisms of joint action to serve our citizens and humanity and change life for the better.

We believe that political parties can play a pivotal role in crystallizing ideas and providing political support to translate these ideas into practical reality. In this regard, our party will do its utmost to create opportunities for the international community’s public and private sector to assist the people of Iraq and improve the infrastructure of the country. The Road and Belt Initiative launched by China in 2013, is one of these important ways to support the people of Iraq including the people of the Kurdistan Region.

We in the Kurdistan Region despite having differences with some political parties on the federal level, we are optimistic about overcoming these differences through peaceful dialogue and according to constitutional mechanisms.

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq is relatively stable and enjoys a good degree of security. While it is a suitable place for implementing some of the projects of the Road and Belt Initiative, it can contribute to the success of the initiative in the other parts of Iraq. We hope that we in the KDP are able to contribute to this process.

 

Hoshyar Siwaily

Head of KDP Foreign Relations

30 November 2020