ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani will travel to Jordan on Sunday on an official visit, set to meet King Abdullah II to enhance bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq with the neighboring country, according to a statement by the Presidency.

"During his visit, he [President Barzani] is scheduled to meet with King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan to discuss enhancing bilateral relations and fostering collaborative efforts between Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and the Kingdom of Jordan,” read a statement by the Kurdistan Region Presidency.

The Kurdish president is also “scheduled to meet with several high-ranking officials from Jordan.”

President Barzani’s visit to Amman comes a day after he joined hundreds of world leaders for Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican.

The Kurdistan Region and Jordan historically enjoyed strong relations. The two sides have strong collaborations in the fields of trade, investment, health, and education.

In May 2024, the Jordanian-Kurdistan Higher Education Forum was held in Erbil to boost cooperation between the two sides in the education sector, seeing the attendance of a senior delegation of the Jordanian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and heads of 21 Jordanian universities.

An estimated 80,000 Kurds are believed to live in Jordan today.

Barzani last visited Jordan in 2021.