In early December, College President Dr Bernie Croal, Immediate-past president Professor Mike Osborn, and the College's International Team welcomed:

• Saman Hussein Muhammad Al-Barzangy, Minister of Health  - Kurdistan Regonal Government Iraq
• Kawa Khalil Ahmad Khoshnaw, General Director of Health Affairs – KRG
• Saran Abdulqader Nooruldeen, Director of Laboratory Affairs - KRG
• Dr Firiad Hiwaizi, an Associate of the College.

Before their visit to the College, the delegation was taken by Professor Mike Osborn and colleagues on a tour of Northwest London Pathology Laboratory. During the visit the vsitors were able to speak to staff in key pathology specialties, including the multi-disciplinary automated laboratory, cellular pathology and digital pathology, infection and Immunity (microbiology), and specialist chemistry infection and immunity (virology).

After the tour, the guests were greeted at the College, followed by a meeting chaired by the President at which the Memorandum of Understanding was signed, and gifts exchanged.

Discussions then turned to the challenges in Kurdistan to strengthen services and quality assurance systems within blood transfusion medicine, blood banking and thalassemia, cytogenetics, and molecular testing in hematology, biochemistry, and microbiology.

Our new international partners then joined President Dr Bernie Croal, College Trustees, Professor Marta Cohen, Professor Noha El-Sakka, and Professor Peter Johnstone, and members of the international team for dinner. 

We would like thank everyone who helped organise the activities of the day and made it a great success.