Championing Kurdish Role in Regional Stability
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani attended the fifth edition of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF2026), held from April 17 to 19 in the Belek resort area of Antalya, southern Türkiye. Over the course of the three-day summit, Barzani held a series of high-profile bilateral meetings with heads of state, foreign ministers, and senior officials from across the region, reinforcing Erbil’s growing diplomatic standing and positioning the Kurdistan Region as an indispensable actor in the turbulent Middle East.
The forum, convened under the theme “Mapping Tomorrow, Managing Uncertainties,” brought together more than 20 heads of state and government, 50 ministers, and representatives from over 150 countries and 75 international organizations. Held under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and organized by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the event has established itself as one of the most consequential multilateral platforms in the region.
An Agenda Defined by Crisis and Cooperation
Barzani’s diplomatic calendar at the forum reflected the breadth of crises reshaping the Middle East. On the opening day, Friday, April 17, he met with Tom Barrack, the United States Ambassador to Türkiye and Special Envoy of President Trump for Syrian Affairs. According to a statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency, the two sides discussed the state of relations between Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and the United States, and exchanged views on the latest regional developments, including the ongoing situation in Syria and the condition of Kurds there. Both parties underscored the importance of continued coordination to promote peace and safeguard stability, particularly as the repercussions of recent conflicts continued to ripple across Iraq and the wider region.
Also on Friday, Barzani sat down with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa in a meeting attended by Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani and Head of General Intelligence Hussein
al-Salama. The talks centered on strengthening economic and trade ties between the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and Syria, while also focusing on the situation of Kurds and other minority communities inside Syria. Barzani expressed appreciation to al-Sharaa for steps taken by Damascus toward conflict resolution, including the agreement reached with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Al-Sharaa, in turn, thanked Barzani for the Kurdistan Region’s consistent support for peace efforts in the country.
Ankara Ties: From the Development Road to the Iran Ceasefire
Barzani’s engagement with Turkish officials proved to be among the most substantive of the forum. On Friday evening, Turkish President Erdogan received Barzani at his hotel in a meeting also attended by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar. According to Türkiye’s Communications Directorate, the two leaders discussed regional and global is
sues, the Development Road Project, and the joint fight against terrorism. Erdogan reaffirmed Ankara’s unwavering dedication to the Development Road initiative — a landmark infrastructure corridor linking Iraq’s southern port of Al-Faw to the Turkish border.
On the second day of the forum, Saturday, Barzani met separately with Turkish National Defense Minister Yasar Guler. Their discussions focused on the ongoing US-Iran temporary ceasefire and its implications for regional security. The ceasefire, which halted nearly six weeks of military conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran following strikes that began in late February, remains a fragile but critical development for neighboring Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, which has been impacted by drone attacks targeting Iranian Kurdish opposition groups on its soil. Guler praised the Kurdistan Region for what he described as its balanced and restrained approach to the conflict, commending Erbil for distancing itself from regional hostilities and calling for broad coordination to preserve peace. Barzani, in response, reiterated that the Kurdistan Region would consistently act as a pillar of peace and stability, and expressed his intention to deepen cooperation with neighboring countries based on mutual interests.
As the Kurdistan Region navigates internal political challenges and external security pressures, Barzani’s presence at Antalya served as a clear signal: the Kurdistan Region intends to remain at the center of the diplomatic conversations that will shape the Middle East’s future.
By Jawad Qadir