On 12 December, the Cardinal Coccopalmerio has received within the State of the Vatican the official visit of Min. Falah Mustafa, Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Kurdistan Regional Government and his delegation, accompanied by Mrs.  Rezan Kader, High Representative of the Kurdistan regional government in Italy.
The Cardinal has informed the Minister that the congregation he chaired deals with the laws of the Church and of its implementation. The Min. Falah has brought the greetings of President Barzani, the Prime Minister and of all the Kurdish people to the Cardinal, thanking him for receiving them to the Holy See.
The Minister informed the Cardinal that in the Kurdistan region there is tolerance, peace and coexistence between different religions and ethnic groups. A witness to this fact, as a result of the beginning of the religious persecution of the Christian brothers in the rest of Iraq and in the Middle East, the President Barzani concretely committed to protect the Christian community by providing shelter and goods of subsistence to thousands of families. This community is an integral part in the region of Kurdistan, but must reach the respect of the rights in other parts of the Middle East.
However, the emergency situation that the region is also facing as a result of the phenomenon of displaced Syrians, need for more support from the international community. For this reason, the Min. Falah has appealed both to the Church that humanitarian organizations and states to intervene in their support with humanitarian aid of any kind and put an end to acts of persecution and intolerance toward the human race.
The Minister Falah has also invited the Cardinal Coccoplamerio to organize more reciprocal visits in order to strengthen the relationship between the State of Vatican and the Region of Kurdistan and to send a delegation from the Vatican on the spot to be witness to the living conditions of the Christian brothers and their need, in order to make them feel strongly about the presence of the Holy See. The Card. Coccopalmerio has expressed total support and solidarity of the Holy See and has forwarded to Min. Falah thanking the Pres. Barzani that both you are spending in relation to the Christian brothers and Syrians and in maintaining peace in this delicate area of the Middle East. The Holy See must do more to keep united the Christian churches in the world, which proves to be a big problem of ecumenism.