群山之外沒有朋友 President Nechirvan Barzani participated in the Queen’s funeral

【縛雞之論】
庫德族　「群山之外沒有朋友」Kurds have no friends but mountains.

President Nechirvan Barzani to participate in the Queen’s funeral    Kurdishtan24 20220918

Barzani is scheduled to arrive in London on Sunday, per his office’s statement.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani is set to participate in the late Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London, according to an official statement.

Barzani is scheduled to arrive in London on Sunday, per his office’s statement.

The Kurdish leader is attending the state funeral service of the country’s longest-serving monarch “at the official invitation of the United Kingdom,” it added.

The Queen is planned to be laid to rest in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after her coffin will be moved from Westminster Hall towards the castle in a formal process.

A total of 500 world dignitaries are attending the funeral alongside 2,000 other participants, including high-profile politicians and celebrities.

Thousands of people have visited Westminster Hall to pay their respects to the late Queen, who is lying in state in the historical landmark.

Buckingham Palace announced the Queen’s death on September 9 in her summer retreat of Balmoral. The former Prince of Wales, King Charles III, was coronated later.

Kurdish leaders, including President Barzani, visited the UK Consulate General to pay their tributes to the late monarch.

“Queen Elizabeth II remained a beacon of strength and source of stability throughout the seven decades of her reign,” he wrote in the Book of Condolence.

 

 

President Barzani’s invitation to Queen’s funeral ‘of great significance’: Official    Rdaw.net 20220919

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The United Kingdom’s invitation to the Kurdistan Region’s President Nechirvan Barzani to attend the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II is “of great significance,” a Kurdish official told Rudaw on Sunday, adding that the presence of a representative from the Region at the event signals the progressing relationship between Erbil and London.

President Barzani arrived in London on Sunday, upon the official invitation extended by the UK, to attend the funeral of the late monarch, as well as a reception with world leaders.

“This is of great significance,” Karwan Jamal Tahir, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) high representative in London, told Rudaw’s Alla Shally, adding that “the UK cabinet stressed that a Kurdistan Region representative must be present at the event.”

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died on September 8 at the age of 96 following health complications, triggering 10 days of national mourning and a tremendous amount of tributes from people all over the world.

Hundreds of royals and heads of states from around the globe have been invited and the funeral is expected to be one of the largest gatherings of leaders in recent years.

“Britain and the Kurdistan Region share a deep, broad, and historic relationship in a number of different fields, and they have been progressing as of late. The relations are based on the wishes of the Britons, and they are committed to wanting a strong Kurdistan Region within the framework of Iraq,” Tahir added.

The UK has been an important ally of the Kurdistan Region for decades. Thirty years ago, former British premier Sir John Major played a key role in declaring a no-fly zone in the north of Iraq, providing a safe haven from the Baath regime that allowed Kurds to gain some autonomy. An Erbil street was named after him in April 2021.