UN envoy welcomes meeting in Kurdistan between senior Iraqi, Kurdish officials

The top United Nations envoy in Iraq has welcomed today the first visit to Erbil of Iraq's Premier for a landmark meeting with officials from the country's Kurdish region as “a positive step in the right direction.”

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq, Martin Kobler, welcomed today's visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and members of his cabinet to Erbil, and his meeting with President of the Kurdistan Region Masud Barzani, according to a press release from the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI).

UNAMI said that the meeting also included Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and other Kurdish officials. The Iraqi Prime Minister also chaired the first Council of Ministers' meeting held in Erbil.

“This visit is a positive step in the right direction, which should reflect favorably on the political process,” said Mr. Kobler, who is als0 head of UNAMI.

“I sincerely hope that successful discussions between the two delegations will help to resolve all outstanding issues between the centre and the region, and will lead to results that will benefit the Iraqi people,” the UN envoy added.