The Kurdish economy will
recover, partly with the help of Britain, says Angus McKee, who after
two years as the British Consul General in Kurdistan has left for
London. Just as the security of the Kurdistan Region matters for the
security of Great Britain, so does its prosperity to the economic
wellbeing, he believes. The collective interest of defeating ISIS, says
McKee, has widened and deepened the relationship between Britain and
Kurdistan Region. Looking back at his time in the Kurdish capital Erbil,
he praises the developments of the past decade.
How do you look at your time in Kurdistan?
Angus McKee:
I arrived in June 2014, at a difficult time, as Daesh (the Islamic
State- ISIS) had just captured Mosul, and was threatening the Nineveh
Plain and the Kurdistan Region. A time of conflict and atrocities. Daesh
is still a threat, but my time here has been defined by the counter
attack. We’ve seen the Peshmerga, the Iraqi security forces and the
coalition forces pushing Daesh back. Daesh is a failing state, as it is
losing territory. It is a terrorist threat whether you are in the
streets of Baghdad, Erbil or London. We have a collective interest of
defeating it. As a result of this, the relationship between Britain and
Kurdistan Region has widened and deepened.
So you must have seen security measures being strengthened here too?
I was with Erbil governor
Nawzad Hadi, who’s a good friend, remembering the attack on Ainkawa in
April 2014. It’s to the credit of the security authorities across the
Kurdistan Region that they have been largely successful in
counterterrorism operations.
What are the main changes you saw during your time here?
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