In the Meeting between the Governor of Erbil and the Representative of the Paris Municipality, Steps for Renovating Erbil Citadel and Activating the Direct Erbil-Paris Air Route Were Reaffirmed
Today, Wednesday, December 3, 2025, Omed Khoshnaw, Governor of Erbil, received Mr. Yann Braem, Consul General of France, and Ms. Lorin, representing the Paris Municipality, along with their accompanying delegation, at the Governorate Diwan.
Initially, the French Consul in the Kurdistan Region thanked the Governor of Erbil for his continuous cooperation, coordination, and open door, and reiterated the strengthening and deepening of the historical and friendly relations between the Kurdish people and France.
Later, Ms. Lorin, representing the Paris Municipality, conveyed the greetings of Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, to the Governor of Erbil and outlined their visit agenda to Erbil, which is within the framework of the sister-city memorandum of understanding between Erbil and Paris. This includes starting the project of renovating the Paris House on Erbil Citadel, to play its role as a center for defending women's rights.
The Governor of Erbil expressed his happiness with the visit of the delegation and the initiation of a civilized project on the Citadel. He highlighted the practical steps for renovating Erbil Citadel and their extensive plans and agenda for the historical future of the Citadel. He emphasized that this process is of great importance and is among the priorities of the esteemed Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, who continuously monitors the renovation process with keen interest.
The Governor of Erbil reiterated that he had always reaffirmed two projects with Ms. Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris, within the framework of the sister-city memorandum of understanding between Erbil and Paris: opening a street named Peshmerga in Paris and opening the Paris House in Erbil.
Fortunately, the first point, the Peshmerga Street and Park, was opened in Paris in a magnificent ceremony attended by President Barzani, and a message was conveyed to the entire world that the Peshmerga is a symbol of the Kurdish people's struggle for their rights.
The second point is the initiation of the project to renovate the Paris House on Erbil Citadel, for which we are happy to express our full readiness to be real partners for the swift implementation of this project, which we are proud of as the French House in Erbil.
The Governor of Erbil also referred to another important point, which is the activation of direct flights between Erbil and Paris. He said that this request has been reiterated several times during their meetings and the participation of the Erbil Governorate delegation in the annual conference of Francophone municipalities with Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Paris. He added that serious work has been done on this issue both in Erbil and Paris, and they are optimistic about its implementation.
During the meeting, the Governor of Erbil, the Consul General of France, and Ms. Lorin, representing the Paris Municipality, discussed in detail the practical steps of the project to renovate the Paris House on Erbil Citadel, and all agreed on the rapid initiation of these civilized and urban projects.
It is worth mentioning that Karzan Abdulhadi, head of Erbil Municipality, and Naz Jalal, Director of EJCC in Erbil Governorate, were present at the meeting.
