Archbishop Michael and Archdeacon Bill joined Canon Faiz Jerjes, parish priest of St George Baghdad, and his assistant Sinan Hanna Kakarash in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, to meet government ministers and officials with a view to establishing, in coming years, a ministry serving foreign expatriates in the north.  As well as calling on His Excellency Pshtiwan Sadq Abdullah, Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs, they were received by His Holiness George III, Catholicos-Patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East.  From the ancient citadel, towering high over the historic city, they watched crowds enjoying the central park and its ponds and fountains.