PM Barzani eyes boosting exports, diversifying investment
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region is set to diversify its investments in other sectors, including expanding its export of local produce abroad, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani announced on Tuesday in Switzerland.
“I'm determined to consolidate our new trade routes, export more and invest in other areas–such as banking, energy and fintech [Financial technology],” Barzani tweeted at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Kurdistan Region recently exported pomegranates to a number of Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, as a pilot project.
On the sidelines of the five-day-long conference, Barzani met on Tuesday with a number of top business executives, including Yusuf Ali, the chairman and the managing director of the Indian United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based LuLu Group International, operating a chain of hypermarkets and retail companies, as well as the CEO of Majid Al Futtaim, an Emarati retail conglomerate.
In less than 9 months, we helped put fresh Kurdistani produce into supermarkets across four Gulf states.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) January 17, 2023
I'm determined to consolidate our new trade routes, export more and invest in other areas - banking, energy and fintech.
Our partners will help. #wef23 #KurdistanInDavos pic.twitter.com/sqAnDIN233
The export project is part of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KGR) plan to diversify the Region’s oil-dependent economy as well as expand its trade relations, according to government officials.
Barzani previously stated that the Region has the potential to serve as Iraq’s and the region’s “food basket”.