Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of (a) the implications for her policies of the recent parliamentary elections in Iraq and (b) relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq.

We applaud the efforts of Prime Minister Kadhimi and the Iraqi electoral commission to run smooth elections with unprecedented support from the UN. The technical processes show a clear improvement on previous elections, and the lack of any major security incidents is testament to the hard work of the security forces. We look forward to working with the new Government of Iraq to deepen the UK-Iraq relationship and build a peaceful, prosperous Iraq that delivers for all its citizens.

We will continue to work closely with the UN and international partners to encourage a new Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to resolve their issues, including on a sustainable budget and disputed internal boundaries. Last year's agreement on Sinjar, which the UN supported, is a positive step in this regard. The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary met the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, President Nechirvan Barzani, during his visit to London on 15-17 September and discussed the stability of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).