KRG prioritizes economic diversification, foreign investment: PM Barzani tells US envoy
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Diversifying the sources of revenue and facilitating foreign investments are among the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) top priorities, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Tuesday in his meeting with a top US diplomat, according to a statement from the Kurdish leader’s office.
Prime Minister Barzani received David Copley, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq Affairs in the US Department of State’s Near Eastern Affairs bureau, and US Consul General Rob Waller in Erbil to discuss the latest developments in Iraq, the region, and Kurdistan Region-US relations, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
Prime Minister Barzani reiterated that the top priorities of his cabinet are “economic diversification, giving more importance to the agricultural sector and protection of local products as well as facilitating foreign and local investments,” the statement noted.
For his part, the US deputy expressed his country’s willingness to develop relations with the Kurdistan Region, particularly in trade and encouraging American companies to invest more in the region, the statement read. In the upcoming month, a trade conference will be held for that purpose.
“There are many [investment] opportunities in [the] Kurdistan Region and Iraq,” Deputy Copley said, per the statement.
Prime Minister Barzani reiterated the importance of resolving the outstanding issues between the KRG and the Federal Government of Iraq, “which is an important factor” for Iraq’s stability and the region.
In early June, the Kurdistan Region’s Board of Investment decided to establish three new investment directorates in three different areas to increase and supervise investment opportunities as well as reduce routine on bureaucracy.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany