KRG investment board plans to diversify Kurdistan Region economy
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired a meeting of the autonomous government's High Council for Investment on Wednesday to discuss the current economic situation and his cabinet’s commitment to diversifying the region’s economy to reduce dependency on international oil prices and on the federal Iraqi government in Baghdad.
Stressing the government’s efforts to build a stronger and more prosperous economy, Barzani emphasized the need to invest more in the sectors of agriculture, industry, and tourism, according to a statement by his press office.
During the meeting, officials briefed the prime minister on the current draft of a new investment law which is expected to be submitted to the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Council of Ministers for approval before facing a vote in the regional parliament.
The meeting also highlighted multiple investment projects in the Kurdistan Region intended to serve the public interest and be based specifically on the needs of the region's population and reorganizing the domestic tax system to increase internal regional income.
In last week's KRG cabinet session, ministers also reviewed the faltering economy, affected deeply by the various far-reaching ramifications of COVID-19 outbreaks across the globe.
Read More: KRG cabinet reviews economy, reiterates call to solve Baghdad disputes
“The Kurdistan Region is going through difficult economic times due to falling oil prices and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and must make adjustments due to limited financial resources,” Barzani said.
He called for a review of the economy in light of the regional financial downturn and underlined the importance of continuing to implement his cabinet’s key Reform Law, passed in January, that was the centerpiece of his administration before the pandemic took over the world's headlines.
Read More: Kurdistan PM calls on ministers to implement key reform package
Underlining the current economic crisis, Prime Minister Barzani said the KRG will do its best to pay public sector salaries and reiterated his commitment to continue providing public services and strengthening the region's infrastructure.
Last week, a KRG delegation traveled to the Iraqi capital to continue Erbil–Baghdad talks about oil disputes and the federal government's resulting decision in April to suspend payments of the Kurdistan Region's share of the national budget.
Read More: KRG delegation heads back to Baghdad for talks on oil, budget freeze
In early May, the KRG announced plans to support the growth of greenhouses, to develop infrastructure on farming and other food-production, and increase tariffs charged on imported agricultural goods as part of efforts to make the Kurdistan Region more self-sustainable.
Read More: Kurdistan Region to boost agriculture for increased self-sustainability
Aside from the obvious economic advantages of boosting local agriculture, it also is a key prerequisite to becoming as “food independent” as possible, an issue that has emerged in the minds of many after seeing the effects of both the coronavirus and shortages that resulted from embargoes Baghdad imposed on the autonomous region after its independence referendum of late 2017.
Also on Wednesday, the KRG Board of Tourism announced that it has decided to temporarily exempt the tourism sector from paying taxes in an effort to offset some of the vast economic losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Read More: Kurdistan temporarily exempts tourism sector from taxes to offset COVID-19 losses
"Tourism is 100 percent suspended in Kurdistan Region, but during last year’s Newroz, we received 243,000 tourists and on Ramadan Eid of last year we received 250,000 tourists," said board spokesperson Nader Rosti in a statement.
"This year, everything has stopped and tourism worldwide has nearly ceased completely because of the coronavirus pandemic."
Editing by John J. Catherine