Lausanne... A meeting took place between the Governor of Erbil and the Mayor of Lausanne

On Thursday, May 23, 2024, as part of his visit to attend the 44th Congress of the International Francophone Association, which will host 500 governors and mayors from cities worldwide in Lausanne, Switzerland, Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw, accompanied by Rewan Hussein from the Kurdistan Regional Government Representation in France, visited the Lausanne Municipality and met with Gregory Junod, the Mayor of Lausanne.
 

During the meeting, the Governor of Erbil conveyed the greetings of Mr. Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, and thanked the Mayor of Lausanne for his role in the successful hosting of the 44th International Congress of Francophone Cities in their city. He also expressed gratitude to the local government for providing facilities to the Kurdish Diaspora in their city on the occasion of the anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne.

Additionally, he extended an official invitation for the Mayor of Lausanne to visit Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.
 

For his part, the Mayor of Lausanne expressed his gratitude and accepted the invitation, confirming that he will visit Erbil in the future.
 

In another part of the meeting, the Governor of Erbil highlighted the discontent among the Kurdish people regarding the treaty signed in Lausanne, which resulted in the division of Kurdistan. However, he clarified that this sentiment is not directed towards the people of Lausanne.
 

The Mayor of Lausanne emphasized that the memory of this event is not pleasant for the people of their city, acknowledging that the signing of the treaty led to the fragmentation of Kurdistan.

It's important to note that the Treaty of Lausanne was signed on July 24, 1923, in Lausanne, Switzerland. It nullified the provisions of the Treaty of Sevres, which had outlined the creation of an independent Kurdish state. Instead, the Treaty of Lausanne determined the fate of Kurdish territories by dividing Kurdistan into four countries: Iraq, Turkey, Iran, and Syria, thereby dissolving Kurdistan as an independent entity.