Masoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan regional administration in northern Iraq, has met with Aydın Selcen, Turkey’s first consul general in Erbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous region.

During the meeting, which took place at Barzani’s residence in Erbil on Saturday, Barzani congratulated Selcen on his new posting and pledged to support his activities in the region.

Turks and Kurds have been living together for centuries, Barzani told Selcen, according to a statement released after the meeting.

“What is not natural is the emergence of abnormal things between us. That’s why the more we integrate with each other, the more we will move away from bad thoughts,” Barzani was quoted as telling Selcen.

For his part, Consul General Selcen, who was appointed to his current post earlier this month, stated that Ankara has the political will to improve its relations with the Kurdish region in every field. Earlier on Saturday, Selcen met with Kemal Kerkuki, speaker of the regional parliament, and on Friday, he had talks with Falah Mustafa Bakir, who is in charge of the Kurdish regional government’s foreign relations.

In late October Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu paid a landmark visit to Erbil, the first by a Turkish foreign minister. Davutoğlu, who visited Basra earlier that day for the opening of a Turkish consulate, stated in Erbil that Turkey would soon open a consulate there. The Iraqi Cabinet approved the opening of a Turkish consulate general in Erbil on January 26.