Erbil Governor Receives Baghdad Governor
on Thursday, June 18, 2026, Omed Khoshnaw, the Governor of Erbil, in the presence of Hemin Qadir, Deputy Governor, received Atwan Al-Atwani, the Governor of Baghdad, and an accompanying delegation at the Governorate's office.
During the meeting, attended by Safin Yassin, a member of the Iraqi Council of Representatives from the KDP faction, the District Commissioner of Erbil Center, the President of Erbil Municipality, and the Directors General of Investment, Municipalities, Tourism, and Culture, the Governor of Erbil, after welcoming the delegation, expressed his pleasure with the visit and emphasized the development of relations between the two governorates.
He also stated that Erbil Governorate's desire is to continuously strengthen ties with all Iraqi cities, especially the capital Baghdad, and hoped that these relations would extend to the level of service departments, so that everyone could unite their efforts to provide the best services to citizens.
Then, the Governor of Erbil highlighted the organization of a special conference for all Iraqi governors, which, by order of His Excellency Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, is scheduled to take place in the near future in the capital Erbil. The main objectives of this conference are to unify efforts and formulate a common strategy for the development of the governorates, and to benefit from each other's administrative and service successes.
It was also decided that the second round of this national conference would be held in Baghdad. Also during the meeting, the necessity of equal support from the federal government for all Iraqi governorates was emphasized, and both sides agreed on the need to unite efforts so that the federal Iraqi central government provides financial and logistical support to the projects of all governorates in a fair and equal manner, with the aim of establishing comprehensive development throughout the country.
In another part of the meeting, an intense discussion took place regarding the development of the ancient relations between the two governorates of Erbil and Baghdad, especially in the fields of culture, art, and tourism. This will be achieved through joint activities and the exchange of literary and artistic delegations with the aim of bringing social and cultural aspects closer.
At the same time, a common mechanism was developed to benefit from Erbil's successful experience in investment, reconstruction, and infrastructure development, as a developed, advanced, and stable example in the region. In this context, the importance of transferring this proven experience to the Iraqi capital (Baghdad) was emphasized, in order to create effective and shared opportunities for investors and the private sector, encourage economic growth, and provide the best services to the citizens of the governorate.
Finally, in a joint press conference, the Governors of Erbil and Baghdad highly praised the success of their high-level meetings with the presidencies of the Kurdistan Region, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and the Minister of Interior of the Kurdistan Regional Government.
They emphasized the initiation of a new phase of strategic cooperation and the exchange of successful experiences, especially in the fields of investment, tourism sector development, and reconstruction and infrastructure projects. They also announced that, by direct order of the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region,
it has been decided that Erbil will host a comprehensive national conference for all Iraqi governors in the near future, which is seen as an important step towards unifying administrative and service efforts. It was also stressed that the visit of the Governor of Baghdad and his accompanying delegation to Erbil is not merely a protocol step, but rather represents the horizon of economic cooperation and development between the two governorates, which will expand completely in the future and become a strong bridge for greater stability in the region.
