On 12 August 2026, Consul General Liu Jun met with Dr. Haval Abubakir, Governor of Sulaimani, and exchanged views on strengthening local cooperation and people-to-people exchanges.

CG Liu noted that as the hometown of the late President Jalal Talabani, Sulaimani holds broad prospects for cooperation with China. The two sides have laid a solid foundation for cooperation in traditional fields such as energy, infrastructure and building materials, while new-energy vehicles, high-end manufacturing and other emerging sectors offer great potential. People-to-people exchanges have also yielded fruitful results, with learning Chinese becoming a new trend among local youth. Last year, Governor Dr. Haval Abubakir led a delegation to China and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on establishing a friendly cooperative relationship between Sulaimani and Yiwu. He expressed the hope that the two sides would build on this to further enrich local cooperation and bring exchanges and cooperation to a new level.

Governor Dr. Haval Abubakir said that Sulaimani has consistently prioritized cooperation with China, and that it is encouraging to see a growing number of Chinese enterprises and products entering the province, with Chinese brand vehicles widely welcomed by the local population. He noted that Sulaimani will continue to leverage local friendship ties to help deliver more outcomes in cooperation across all fields.