SULAIMANI – (ESTA) Bafel Jalal Talabani, President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), welcomed Steve Bitne, the new US Consul General in the Kurdistan Region، at the headquarters of the Political Bureau in Erbil.
In the meeting, which was attended by Darbaz Kosrat Rasul, Rewaz Fayeq, members of the Political Bureau, Saadi Ahmad Pira, spokesman of the PUK and Mark Straw, former US consul, the situation in the Kurdistan Region, elections and energy sector were discussed and further coordination between the two sides was emphasized within the framework of protecting higher interests.
At the beginning of the meeting, the PUK president praised the positive role of Mark Straw for his past services in the Kurdistan Region, congratulated Steve Bitne on his appointment and reaffirmed the support of the PUK for the success of his work.
During the meeting, President Bafel referred to the Kurdistan parliamentary elections and said that “holding fair elections on schedule will take the Kurdistan Region to a better stage; the situation needs to change and elections are the best option to move towards healthier governance. We reject any attempt to delay the process and we do not want the fate of our region to be endangered.”.
The energy sector was another topic of the meeting and the PUK President said that “the rich infrastructure of the Kurdistan Region has not been used properly and has become a source of welfare for its people. Therefore, our efforts are to return the rights of our people and use the national wealth for public service and direct our region towards prosperity.”.
