Kurdish authorities enjoy strong ties with the US, which led the 2003 invasion that toppled longtime Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein, who had persecuted the Kurds.
The US has had a consulate in Erbil since 2011, but the new, larger complex spans 50 acres.
The project "is a physical symbol of America's long-term partnership with Iraq and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region", Michael J. Rigas, US deputy secretary of state for management and resources, said at the opening.
Kurdistan presents itself as a relative oasis of stability in Iraq, which has seen decades of turmoil but has recently regained a sense of normalcy.
Rigas said Washington saw "the Iraqi Kurdistan Region as a dynamic entry point to Iraq's markets for American companies".
Many US companies are already heavily invested in Iraq, including in Kurdistan, and oil giant ExxonMobil has recently returned to the country after a two-year absence.
But in recent months, Kurdistan has seen a spate of drone attacks targeting mostly its gas and oil fields, with Riga urging local authorities to dismantle the Iran-aligned militias blamed for the strikes.
Iraq to start new chapter without UN mission: envoy
United Nations, United States (AFP) Dec 2, 2025 -
Post-war Iraq will lead its own future after the United Nations closes its mission there at year's end, the UN envoy to the Middle Eastern country said Tuesday.
The United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) will be shutting down its operations after 22 years of helping the country transition from instability in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion and occupation as well as the ouster of Saddam Hussein's dictatorship.
UNAMI's departure "represents the start of a new chapter rooted in Iraq's leadership of its own future," Mohamed Al Hassan, the head of the mission, told the UN Security Council during a meeting devoted to the situation in Iraq.
He assured the council that the international community was witnessing "an honorable and dignified closure of a UN mission."
But "the road to peace, security and stability was long and difficult," he added.
With the international community's support, "Iraq came out victorious, but with untold sacrifices," Al Hassan said.
Last year, the mission established in 2003 was extended one last time until December 31, 2025.
Baghdad said the closing of the UN mission marked "the completion of the political building process initiated in 2003 after the fall of the dictatorial regime."
UNAMI's tasks included advising the government on political dialogue and reconciliation, as well as helping with elections and security sector reform.
On Tuesday, Al Hassan addressed the council after Iraq held its sixth parliamentary election in November.
The envoy expressed the hope that a new Iraqi government would be formed without delay.
"Iraq has overcome successive conflicts on a hard-won path to stability," he said.
"Nevertheless, the lasting effects of conflict have given rise to dire and persisting humanitarian needs, with about 1 million Iraqis remaining internally displaced."
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