Kurdistan Region, China to strengthen economic ties

The Chinese delegation expressed their readiness to cooperate with the KRG Ministry of Finance and Economy.

Kurdistan 24 2023/07/18 17:02

The meeting between the delegations of KRG Minister of Finance and Economy and Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in the Kurdistan Region, July 18, 2023. (Photo: KRG)

Kurdistan China KRG Masrour Barzani Awat Janab Noori Economy Liu Zhenyong

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – On the recommendation of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Finance and Economy, Awat Janab Noori, a delegation from the Ministry on Tuesday visited the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in the Kurdistan Region, according to a statement from the KRG.

The KRG delegation includes Hawre Kamal, Economic Affairs Advisor, Karzan Karim Muhammed, Supervisor of the Economic Unit, Abdulqadir Ahmed, Deputy Director General of Customs, and Hawre Bakhtiar, Director of Tax Inspection. They were welcomed by Liu Zhenyong, the deputy Consul General of China in the Kurdistan Region, and Chen Guojing, head of the political department of the Chinese Consulate.

The main topic of their discussion was establishing economic cooperation and coordination between both countries.

Moreover, the Chinese delegation expressed their readiness to cooperate with the KRG Ministry of Finance and Economy.

Meanwhile, the KRG delegation showed their willingness for all kinds of assistance and facilitation for Chinese investment in the Kurdistan Region.

Beijing and Erbil share close economic ties. In Sept. 2022, a Chinese investor submitted a proposal for a $5 billion tourist city in Erbil. The 2,000-sqm project, dubbed Happy City, would create 8,000 jobs and include areas for tourism, residences, water, and entertainment.

In another example of Chinese investment in the Region, China Power Investment Corporation (also known as PowerChina) recently contracted with the Kurdish company Dabin Group to build a 6,000 ton capacity cement plant near Safin Mountain in Erbil Governorate.

The project, which provides 1,000 job opportunities during the construction phase and includes a 52-megawatt power plant, will be finished in two years, Kamaran Dosky, the plant’s chief executive officer, said in a speech. He added that the factory is “strategic” in the long term for the Kurdish region.