Italy–Kurdistan Region relations are bilateral relations between

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and the

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region ( ku, هەرێمی کوردستان, translit=Herêmî Kurdistan; ar, إقليم كردستان), abbr. KRI, is an autonomous region in Iraq comprising the four Kurdish-majority governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok ...

. Italy has a

consulate general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

in Erbil, while Kurdistan Region has a representation in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Relations are described as "strong" and Italy has a military presence in Kurdistan Region. About 800 Italian soldiers were present in Kurdistan in 2018.

History

Many high-level meeting have been held between Italy and Kurdistan Region. In November 2005, Kurdish President

Massoud Barzani Masoud Barzani ( ku, ,مه‌سعوود بارزانی, translit=Mesûd Barzanî}; born 16 August 1946) is a Kurdish politician who has been leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) since 1979, and was President of the Kurdistan Region of ...

visited Italian Prime Minister

Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies ...

in Rome, and again in 2009. In September 2012, President Barzani met with the Italian Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi in Rome to discuss economic and cultural ties. Barzani visited Italy again in May 2014, meeting Foreign Minister

Federica Mogherini Federica Mogherini (; born 16 June 1973) is an Italian politician who served as High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission from 2014 to 2019. She previously served as I ...

. Three months later, Prime Minister

Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...

visited Erbil to strengthen political and military ties. In February 2020, Kurdish President Masrour Barzani was received by Italian President

Giuseppe Conte Giuseppe Conte (; born 8 August 1964) is an Italian jurist, academic, and politician who served as prime minister of Italy from June 2018 to February 2021. He has been the president of the Five Star Movement (M5S) since August 2021. Conte ...

to discuss regional security and economic relations. The two parties signed an environmental agreement in July 2017, aimed at assisting the Kurdish government with technology concerning climate change. Prime Minister

Giorgia Meloni Giorgia Meloni (; born 15 January 1977) is an Italian politician who has been serving as the Prime Minister of Italy since 22 October 2022, the first woman to hold this position. A member of the Chamber of Deputies since 2006, she has led the ...

visited Kurdistan Region in late December 2022 to meet Kurdish counterpart and moreover the Camp Singara military base where Italian soldiers are staying.

Italian military aid to Kurdistan

In December 2015, Prime Minister Renzi decided to dispatch 450 Italian soldiers to Kurdistan Region, to protect Kurdish-controlled

Mosul Dam Mosul Dam ( ar, سد الموصل), formerly known as Saddam Dam (), is the largest dam in Iraq. It is located on the Tigris river in the western governorate of Nineveh, upstream of the city of Mosul. The dam serves to generate hydroelectricity ...

as it underwent reconstruction by the Italian company Trevi Sp.A. Furthermore, Italian soldiers have trained about 7,000 Kurdish soldiers, as of January 2017. Regarding military aid, Italy has sent 100 machine guns, an undisclosed amount of

anti-tank missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

s and a Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter to Kurdistan. Other aid include 2,000 rocket propelled grenades and one million rounds of ammunion, which Italy seized from a vessel bound to blockaded Serbia in 1994. Kurdistan Region is also the base for 8 Italian helicopters; four

Agusta A129 Mangusta The Agusta A129 Mangusta ( en, Mongoose) is an attack helicopter originally designed and produced by Italian company Agusta. It is the first attack helicopter to be designed and produced wholly in Europe. It has continued to be developed by Agus ...

s and four NHIndustries NH90s. In April 2017, the Italian Consul General Serena Muroni stated that Italy would receive 11 wounded Kurdish soldiers for proper medical treatment. During her trip to Erbil in July 2015, Italian Defence Minister

Roberta Pinotti Roberta Pinotti (born 20 May 1961) is an Italian politician, member of the Democratic Party. From 22 February 2014 to 1 June 2018 she served as the Italian Minister of Defence in the governments of Matteo Renzi and Paolo Gentiloni. Early life ...

stated that "Italy stands behind Kurdistan in the “common challenge” of fighting the Islamic State group". In 2018, Kurdish President

Nechirvan Barzani Nechirvan Idris Barzani ( ku, نێچیرڤان بارزانی, translit=Nêçîrvan Barzanî; born 21 September 1966) is a Kurdish politician serving as the second President of Kurdistan Region, Iraq. He was elected into office by the Kurdistan ...

visited Italy and met with Defense Minister

Lorenzo Guerini Lorenzo Guerini (born 21 November 1966) is an Italian politician and member of the Democratic Party. Guerini has been serving as Minister of Defence in the cabinets of successive Prime Ministers Giuseppe Conte and Mario Draghi from 2019 to 2022. ...

History

Italian military aid to Kurdistan

See also

References

Further reading