ANP - Ararat News & Publishing

Flemish Parliamentary delegation visiting Kurdistan

Ararat News –Publishing (ANP) – Roni Zanyar – 16 / 4 / 2008 / Brussels –A delegation from the Belgium - Flemish Parliament is visiting the Federal Kurdistan. The delegation which arrived in Kurdish capital Erbil- International Airport on last Monday, is consisting of parliament members Anne Marie Hoebeke (Open VLD), Jan Roegiers (SP.A), Johan Verstreken (CD&V) and Piet De Bruyn (N-VA).

According the sources from Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the delegation’s visit comes after a resolution in the Flemish Parliament aiming to strengthen relations with the Kurdistan Region. The representatives of the five Flemish political parties would like to see on the grounds the latest development, as well as investment opportunities, the state of education, healthcare, women and youth issues.

The Flemish delegation first paid a visit to the Kurdistan Assembly. They attended a plenary session after which they held a series of meetings. Their first meeting was with Pakhshan Zangana, the head and several other members of the Committee for Women Affairs in the Kurdistan Parliament. During this meeting, Mrs. Zangana informed the delegation about the (legal) progress they have made on women issues. She mentioned some positive steps like the increase of women’s labour participation and their participation on the political landscape. But she also pointed to some negative trends such as the increase of domestic violence and women suicidal cases which she regarded as huge challenges and for which she asked for help from Flanders. The Flemish Parliament expressed their readiness to work on this issue inside the Flemish parliament and promised to look for ways of co-operations in the future.

Afterwards, the Flemish delegation met with some members of the Christians (Purple list) in the Kurdistan parliament. In this meeting both sides talked about the share of Christians in the Kurdistan Region’s political and decision making arenas and their participation on other areas. The Flemish delegation met also the KDP fraction of the Kurdistan Parliament. During this meeting, several topics were discussed among others the federal status of the Flanders regions and parallels between Kurdistan and Flanders. The KDP fraction members asked their Flemish counterparts questions about the ways Flanders deal with the Federal government and how regional and Federal authorities work together within the Belgian Federal state.

The delegation met the Minister of Youth and Sport, Taha Berwari, they talked about the possibilities for co-operation and the ways in which Kurdish and Flemish Youth and Student organizations can work together.

The Flemish Parliamentarians visited also the Erbil City Council where they met Mr. Nawzad Hadi, Governor of Erbil and his Deputy Mr. Tahir Osman, the Ministry of Civil Society where they met with Minister George Munsor. The delegation will end their visit 17 of April.