PM Barzani pledges Kurdistan's support for business, foreign investors

Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani assured businesses and foreign investors on Tuesday of the government’s support for them and highlighted ongoing private sector reform initiatives.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani assured businesses and foreign investors on Tuesday of the government’s support for them and highlighted ongoing private sector reform initiatives.

Barzani's words came during a gathering in Erbil with a delegation representing the US-Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC), made up of 30 different US companies with an eye on investing in various industries in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.

"The Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] welcomes foreign companies and investors in different areas and will provide necessary aids," stressed Barzani during the meeting, according to a statement released by his office.

"There are opportunities in the Kurdistan Region for developing an economic foundation and attracting investors," members of the delegation were quoted as expressing.

The Kurdistan Region's Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the US Consulate General in the Kurdistan Region were responsible for bringing together the attending American and Kurdish businessmen and investors to discuss possible areas of economic cooperation and trade in the region.

"This event demonstrates the deepening of business ties between the United States and the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, and the renewal of interest in trade and investment here," US Consul-General in Erbil Steve Fagin said during his speech as he addressed attendees on Tuesday.

The statement added that the PM "thanked the humanitarian and military aid of the US for the Kurdistan Region."

Barzani also summarized for the guests the economic crises the Kurdistan Region was embroiled in as a result of the Islamic State's (IS) 2014 emergence in Iraq.

The delegation finished by congratulating the KRG on its successful efforts to combat the crises in the trying period the region went through and commended the sacrifices of the people and Peshmerga of Kurdistan in the fight against terror.

Editing by John J. Catherine