Provinces of Belgium
During the second half of the 20th century, Belgium transitioned from a unitary state to a federal state with three Communities and three Regions. As part of the state reforms, the (bilingual) province of Brabant was split in 1995 three ways: into two (unilingual) provinces (Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant) and into the (bilingual) Brussels-Capital Region. (The Brussels-Capital Region does not belong to any province, is not a province, and does not contain any provinces.) The two new Brabant provinces became part of the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region respectively. The remaining eight provinces became part of these regions as well, so the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region each contain five provinces.
Belgium–Kurdistan Region relations
Belgium–Kurdistan Region relations are bilateral relations between Belgium and Kurdistan Region. Belgium has no representation in Kurdistan Region and the latter has no representation in Belgium. Kurdistan Region's representation to the European Union is located in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Belgium has a military presence in Kurdistan Region with circa 30 soldiers training Kurdish soldiers (Peshmerga). In 2017, Kurdish President Massoud Barzani visited Belgium and met with Minister-President Geert Bourgeois of the federal region of Flandern, where the latter stated that the upcoming Kurdish referendum in September 2017 should be respected and Deputy Prime Minister of the federal government in Belgium Jan Jambon has stated that all nations have the right to self-determination.