SITUATION IN THE KURDISTAN REGION IN IRAQ

That this House is cautiously optimistic about the prospects of dialogue between the Kurdistan Region in Iraq and the federal Government of Iraq on opening Kurdistan's airports, which have been blockaded since September 2017, and reaching a sustainable settlement based on full implementation of the Iraqi constitution; applauds the KRG for defending its rights within the constitution despite Baghdad's unconstitutional use of force and collective punishment in reaction to a peaceful referendum which established that 93 per cent of the people prefer independence in desperation at Baghdad's refusal to implement the constitution; notes increased pressure from nations, including the UK, to encourage this dialogue; recalls the UK's debt to the KRG and its Peshmerga, with international coalition forces and the Iraqi Army, in resisting the Daesh death cult; commends Norwegian MP Himanshu Gulati's nomination of the Peshmerga for the Nobel Peace Prize for their contributions in the fight against Daesh; welcomes continuing internal KRG reforms, including its commitment to transparency in the oil and gas sector, with the publication of the first report by international auditing company, Deloitte, which includes verified numbers of export and sales of oil in the Kurdistan Region for the first half of 2017; and urges further economic and political reform in that region to overcome needless divisions, unleash enterprise, diversify the economy and enable the Kurdistan Region and its people to make their contribution to wider reform in the Middle East.