Hoxhaj in Kurdistan for talks with ministers on defense, infrastructure and labor

Kosovo’s former foreign minister, Enver Hoxhaj, is in Sulaymaniyah, in the Kurdistan Region, to attend the Slemani Strategic Forum. He was invited by Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government.

During the forum, Hoxhaj met with the governor of Slemani, Dr. Haval Abubaker, as well as members of the regional government. In a Facebook post on Friday morning, he said he had thanked Abubaker for his hospitality and for the opportunity for Kosovo to share its experience with participants from different regions.

The PDK lawmaker said in another post that talks had continued after the forum’s panel discussions. These included meetings with Kurdistan Regional Government ministers responsible for defense, infrastructure and labor.

Hoxhaj said he had also met with Frans Timmermans, former executive vice-president of the European Commission; Dimitris Avramopoulos, former European commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship; and Lord Grimstone of Boscobel, former British minister for Investment. He also met with Hryhoriy Nemyria, a former deputy prime minister of Ukraine and first deputy chair of the Ukrainian parliament’s Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation.

In his post, Hoxhaj described Kosovo as an example of state-building and a point of reference for small states seeking a stronger voice on the international stage. He said Kosovo’s diplomacy should return to the center of its efforts through a greater presence in international debates and sustained engagement with partners.

A day earlier, on the sidelines of the same forum, Hoxhaj met with former Bulgarian prime minister Kiril Petkov and Turkey’s former deputy prime minister and foreign minister Ali Babacan.