New U.S. consulate in Erbil to complete in 2023

Kurdistan 06:32 PM - 2021-09-23

Yesterday on September, 22nd 2021 was the celebration of finishing the structure of the new U.S . consulate in Erbil. The prime minister of the Kurdistan Region and other distinguished members of the government were invited to celebrate this special milestone in the Kurdish-American friendship.

60% of the new building is complete and provides jobs for over 600 people who help to finish the project. The United States Consulate will become the biggest U.S. consulate in the world once it’s finished in 2023 with a total surface of 52 000 square meters. The reason for this enormous size is that the U.S. and the Kurdistan Region need more room to grow bigger and symbolizes also a long-term commitment between the two. The building will be LEED certified, a global rating program that awards points based on compliance with different aspects of sustainability, for example, solar panels on the roof that produce 15% of the electricity used by the consulate.

The history of the Kurdish-American alliance goes way back. Already at the beginning of the 90s, the Americans and their allies provided and controlled a no-fly zone in Northern Iraq when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. Under the American presence in Iraq until 2011 the Kurdistan Region had the chance to flourish and grow. A few years later the Americans came back when ISIS attacked Iraq and the Iraqi-Kurdish Peshmerga force worked together to keep them out of Erbil. A hand-in-hand cooperation between Kurds and Americans has always existed and will always exist.

But nowadays the relations are not anymore based only on security. Of course, the U.S. helps the Kurdistan Region to reform the Peshmerga, especially with military equipment and training but their work includes also: economic growth, fighting the pandemic, preserving the Kurdish culture, and strengthening the education and health care system. Several projects have been launched in the last years: A program that will develop the agricultural sector in Kurdistan, the Americans support many Universities in the region such as the University of Sulaymaniyah or the Salahaddin University in Erbil.

Both sides, the United States and the Kurdistan Region made clear that they believe in a common future and in deepening their relationship furthermore. “The US and the Kurdistan Region are better together”, said U.S. Consul General Robert Palladino in his speech. It’s been ten years that the American Consulate opened its doors in Erbil and it seems that there will be many many years to come in the future.

Reported by Julia Zimmermann
PUKmedia