A US delegation, led by Ryan Cocker, visited Iraqi Kurdistan from 11 to 13 of
this month. During its visit, the delegation held a number of political meetings
in Arbil and Suleimaniya. The reason for the delegation's visit was to follow up
the peace process between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the KDP. The
delegation reaffirmed its readiness to take part in the implementation of the
Washington agreement [signed between KDP and Patriotic Union of
Kurdistan, PUK, in 1998] in order to establish peace and security in the region.

In this respect, the KDP reaffirmed its commitment to all the clauses of the
[Washington peace] agreement and its eagerness to exert all efforts to find a
solution for all the outstanding points without retreating on any other
implemented points, especially that the Kurdistan region has seen noticeable
stability after the cease-fire. We have also reached a state of confidence and
mutual trust with the PUK.

The US delegation reaffirmed the United States commitment to the process of
guaranteeing the security of the region. It considered this as a political and
moral commitment of the USA and its allies. In this respect they pointed to the
letter of the US Secretary of State Colin Powell [to the Kurdish leaders Barzani and Talabani in August 2001, stressing US commitment to protect the region].

The delegation also discussed the UN Security Council [oil-for-food]
Resolution 986. They expressed their satisfaction with the way the programme is being implemented in the Iraqi Kurdish region and the statistics received from the UN reaffirm the success of the programme.

The obstacles that come in the way of implementing this programme were also
discussed, especially those relating to electricity and health. The general situation in the fields of rehabilitation and services in the region were also discussed. In this respect, the delegation
expressed its satisfaction with the progress that has been achieved in many
areas such as,
rehabilitation, reconstruction of villages, roads, schools and the determination
to eradicate the suffering of the people.

The delegation also noticed the satisfaction of the people who were busy with
their daily life which motivated them to be more determined to work for the
stability of the region and improving the experience.

The visiting delegation expressed its happiness with the political climate and the pluralistic and free atmosphere for expressing opinion and over relations between many political parties in the region.