1st International Conference on Baghdad-Erbil relations kicks off in Al-Sulaymaniyah

Shafaq News/ The University of Sulaimani launched on Wednesday the first International Conference of Peacebuilding in Iraq (ICPI 2025), titled “Iraq and the Kurdistan Region Twenty Years from the Constitution: Internal and External Dynamics.”

The university brings together an array of academics, political experts, university presidents, scholars, and prominent political figures from Iraq and abroad to explore the evolving relationship between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region.

Speaking to Shafaq News Agency, Biston Hussein, head of the conference’s organizing committee, noted that over 35 specialized research papers are being presented, addressing a wide range of topics including political, security, legal, economic, and social dimensions of Baghdad-Erbil relations since the 2005 ratification of Iraq’s Constitution.

The two-day conference will feature discussions of all submitted papers, concluding with a set of recommendations and outcomes to be submitted to both the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal government in Baghdad.

Organizers hope the academic discourse and evidence-based studies will contribute to deepening understanding between Erbil and Baghdad, and offer practical insights to resolve long-standing disputes in a way that supports Iraq’s federal stability and meets the aspirations of its citizens.

Iraq’s permanent constitution was approved via public referendum in 2005 and established the foundation for a federal system of governance. However, disputes between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Region over issues such as authority distribution, natural resource management, and the national budget have persisted.