Courageous Peshmerga impress Bourgeois
Minister-president Bourgeois was very impressed by the perseverance of the Peshmerga and the resilience of the Kurdish people, as he returned from his visit to the frontline. This frontline separating the Kurds from ISIS, is just an hour's drive from Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. This is where the Flemish delegation, led by Minister-president Bourgeois, stayed from 7 to 9 April.
Minister-president Bourgeois praised the Peshmerga who, with limited means, have been defending over a thousand kilometers of frontline against ISIS/Daesh. "I am here to show my gratitude and appreciation for your battle against ISIS/Daesh," he told the Kurdish soldiers. "In Brussels, we also suffered, but what you’re doing here is much more difficult and dangerous. It’s the same enemy and it’s one to watch out for."
Minister-president Bourgeois went on a three-day visit to Iraqi Kurdistan. He met President Masoud Barzani, prime minister Nechervan Barzani and the Minister of Planning and Education and Religious Affairs. On the agenda was the fight against ISIS/Daesh as well as self-determination and Kurdish autonomy within Iraq. Another topic was the exploration of possibilities to develop the political and economic cooperation between Flanders and Kurdistan.
"Every day, you prove that different religions can live together in peace, " Bourgeois said during his meeting with the Catholic bishop of Erbil, Bashar Warda, and the expelled Orthodox Archbishop of Mosul, Mor Nicodemus Sharaf Daoud. Both bishops offered their condolences after the attacks in Brussels and warned Flanders for ISIS/Daesh’s cruelty and horror . Minister-president Bourgeois decided to donate 130,000 euros to the Kurdish Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, to better educate teachers about the fight against radicalization and for religious tolerance.