Kurdistan Parliament Deputy Speaker Dr. Hemin Hawrami on 21 December welcomed Armenia's first ever Consul General in Kurdistan Region, Mr. Arshak Manoukian.

MP Janan Jabar Boya (National Union Coalition) also participated in the meeting.

Deputy Speaker Hawrami congratulated Mr. Manoukian on his posting as Armenia's first Consul General in Erbil, and gave him an overview of Parliament's parties, quota system for women, reserved seats for Kurdistan's religious and ethnic components, and the work of the committees. He also briefed him on Parliament's recent and future legislative projects.

The Deputy Speaker said that Kurdistan Region and Armenia have much in common and a long shared history, and that there is one seat reserved in the Kurdistan Parliament for Kurdistan's Armenian community to ensure their political representation and participation.

Dr. Hawrami and Consul General Manoukian discussed developing bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Parliament and the Parliament of Armenia, and their hope to arrange visits by MPs of both parliaments to each other's countries in the near future.  

Mr. Manoukian pointed to the thousands of years of shared history of the Armenians and Kurds and many cultural commonalities. He said that Armenia and Kurdistan already have good ties in higher education, with 400 students from Kurdistan Region studying in Yerivan, and hopes to increase both educational and commercial ties with Kurdistan and Iraq.

The Consul General added that Armenia hopes to officially open the Consulate General in Erbil this year.