The Emirates News Agency reported that President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan sent a message of condolences to Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and the family of the deceased. Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum issued a similar statement expressing sympathy for the loss. Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan also conveyed his condolences to the Kurdish leadership as part of the coordinated outreach that underscores longstanding diplomatic ties.
Kurdistan 24 reported that Abdulwahid Ibrahim Sheikh Abdulsalam Barzani passed away on September 4, 2026, due to illness. President Masoud Barzani announced the death in a statement describing the deceased as a model of faith, piety and goodness. The late figure served as a prominent leader within the Barzani family and as a grandson of Sheikh Abdulsalam Barzani, an early 20th-century Kurdish national and religious leader.
The Barzani family has stood as a central pillar of Kurdish national and political life for more than a century, according to a Kurdistan 24 historical overview. Sheikh Abdulsalam Barzani led significant revolts in the Kurdish regions during the 1910s and 1920s against Ottoman and later British authorities. His descendants, notably Mustafa Barzani, carried forward advocacy for Kurdish autonomy within Iraq through subsequent decades of political struggle.
Bilateral relations between the UAE and the Kurdistan Region have deepened since the UAE opened a consulate general in Erbil in 2012, a development detailed in summaries of Kurdish-UAE ties. More than 200 Emirati companies now operate in the region and have helped generate trade volumes exceeding two billion dollars, according to figures cited by the Kurdistan Region Board of Investment in a February 2026 Kurdistan 24 report. The partnerships extend to energy, where Emirati firm TAQA holds working interests in local oil fields, and to humanitarian projects including the construction of hospitals for refugees.
Reciprocal gestures have marked the relationship in recent years, with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani extending condolences to UAE leaders on the passing of a senior Al Nahyan family member in May 2026, as reported by Kurdistan 24. High-level visits between Kurdish and Emirati officials have focused on strengthening economic cooperation and investment flows. These exchanges built on earlier meetings in 2012 involving Masoud Barzani and senior UAE figures that laid foundations for expanded collaboration across political and commercial spheres.
UAE investments in the Kurdistan Region were estimated at around 2.5 billion dollars by 2014, according to contemporary assessments of bilateral economic links. The two sides have pursued joint initiatives in agriculture and infrastructure that align with broader regional development goals. Continued coordination between Erbil and Abu Dhabi aims to sustain momentum in trade and energy partnerships that have benefited local economies on both ends.
