Yesterday marked a proud day for the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as we celebrated the opening of the new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) headquarters in Washington, DC. This inauguration underscores our commitment to maintaining and deepening our relationship with America, as well as to our mission of helping our friends better understand the Kurdistan Region.
The new KRG headquarters will continue to serve as the hub for providing testimony, education and guidance on a variety of issues and opportunities relevant to our goals and priorities as part of Iraq. Our office will also continue to focus on encouraging foreign investment; promoting knowledge and understanding of the people living in the Kurdistan Region; facilitating political, cultural and educational visits to Kurdistan; and cultivating educational links to and from the Region. The new HQ will also be the center for up-coming intellectual, cultural and social activities highlighting the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. There is, in fact, already a lot of wonderful art from the Region all throughout of offices.
Designed by the Victorian architect Thomas Franklin Schneider (1859-1938) and originally built in 1910, the new KRG Headquarters – at 1532 16th Street, NW – is a step into history along one of Washington, DC’s most storied streets, just blocks north of the White House. The restored townhouse provides the KRG staff with more room and better resources by which to serve the people of the Kurdistan Region, or anyone who visits the office.
My team and I, are excited to be working from this new office – and to proudly continue to represent the Kurdistan Region of Iraq here in the U.S. If you did not make it to the opening night of the headquarters, I encourage you to drop by and we will give you a tour of this wonderful new place.
KRG office in WDC not acting as official office. It should represent the Kurdish government and the constituencies. You invited only your and PDK followers, in addition of some foreigner officials ( Drinks and food is the power of turn out). It's final countdown
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the new office. It's a far cry from years past when our Kurdish activists would canvass the streets of Washington, pleading for US politicians to hear them during our darkest hours in "Iraq", to little avail.
ReplyDeleteLet us leverage this strategic historical and geographical location to not only promote softer cultural, economic and social functions (which is better left mostly to organizations like KAYO or KSSO, who do the job more effectively anyways), but to play political hardball to secure the rights and interests of Kurdistan (as our Baghdad counterparts have been nothing but a dismal failure in this regard).
Enough pleasantries, enough political smalltalk, enough "thank you's" to the despicable Madeleine Albrights of the world. This only diminishes our credibility, to the outside world, to progressive Americans, and to our Kurdish people.
We have a just cause - let us not be afraid or ashamed to stand up and demand our rights. We hope KRG Washington fills these shoes.
Best regards,
Ali
Unless you start getting money to development rather than to corruption kickbacks there will be more rioting. Then there will be no need for new offices.
ReplyDelete