ERBIL, KURDISTAN, IRAQ

Committee Chair: Patsy Cottrell
If you would like to be more invovled with Erbil, please reach out to our chair Patsy Cottrell (email)

In 2023, Nashville formed a sister city realtionship with the Governorate of Erbil, a part of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq. The KRG is the government of the autonomous region in Iraq, sometimes referred to as the Region of Kurdistan and Iraqi Kurdistan. Erbil is located in the North East corner of Iraq and serves as the capital of the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

The ancient city of Erbil, also called Hawler, is one of the longest continuously inhabited places in the world. It has an estimated population of around 1,600,000. Human settlement at Erbil may be dated back to the fifth millennium BC.  Erbil is a center for archaeological projects in the area. At the heart of the city is the ancient Citadel of Erbil, which, in 2014 was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The U.S. Consulate is located in Erbil.  The U.S. State Department is building a new consulate compound there which will be the largest U.S. Consulate in the world. 

As Nashville is home to the largest Kurdish population in the U.S., there has long been an interest in creating a sister city partnership with a Kurdish city. In August of 2020, Sister Cities of Nashville was approached by brothers Jamil Sameen of Nashville and Azad Sameen of Kurdistan, with support of the U.S. Consulate in Erbil as well as many members of the Nashville Kurdish Community, to open dialogue about twinning Erbil and Nashville. In May of 2022, a delegation led by Erbil's Governor Omed Xhoshnaw and Mayor Nabaz Abdulhamid visited Nashville to explore possible partnership opportunities between our two cities.  The next year (May 2023), Nashville sent a reciprocal delegation led by Mayor John Cooper to Erbil to further strengthen relationships and explore exchange opportunities.  The delegation included SCN board members and City Officials including Council and School Board members.  
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Erbil became Nashville's 10th sister city relationship on September 9, 2023 under Mayor John Cooper. 

We look forward to growing and expanding this partnership and welcome community involvement from Nashville and Erbil!  Please contact the committee chair if you would like to be invovled.