Kurdistan, a mountainous area made up of parts of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria, is home to one of the largest ethnic groups in the region: the Kurds. Now, most in the West know them for their small, oil-rich autonomous region in northern Iraq called Iraqi Kurdistan — one of the U.S.' closer allies in the Middle East and a bulwark against the expansion of the so-called Islamic State. What does the success of Iraqi Kurdistan mean for Kurds in the surrounding region? **Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman**, the Kurdistan Regional Government Representative to the U.S., discusses the status of Kurdistan and its relationship to the United States. Before her appointment as the representative to the U.S., Ms. Abdul Rahman worked as a journalist for 17 years and then began her public service career as the High Representative to the United Kingdom. In her current role, she works to strengthen ties between Kurdistan and the United States, advocate for her government's position on a wide array of political, security, humanitarian, economic, and cultural matters, and promote coordination and partnership, influencing both Kurdistan-U.S. relations and the position of Kurdistan in the world.