Private sector plays vital role in Kurdistan's development: PM

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The private sector plays an essential role in developing, widening, and diversifying the economy of the Kurdistan Region, said a senior Kurdish official on Sunday.

Erbil will host the third economic conference on the role of the private sector in Kurdistan’s economic development.

Many officials, businessmen, and diplomats are expected to attend the discussion.

The conference, organized by the Kurdistan Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry/Iraq (KFCCI) and Erbil Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCI), is sponsored by Kurdistan24.

The two-day conference consists of five different panels related to the economy in the Region.

The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani stated the government had always viewed the role of the private sector as “the dynamo of economic development” in the Kurdistan Region.

“This sector [private] plays a major role in developing, widening, and diversifying the economy of the Kurdistan Region,” Barzani said.

He added the KRG had provided facilities to local and foreign private sectors in the Region and will continue to provide more opportunities for the sector.

Moreover, Barzani mentioned Kurdistan’s cut of the federal budget share by Baghdad, the Islamic State (IS) war, the presence of 1.8 million refugees and displaced persons, and international drop in oil prices largely affected the Region in all aspects.

He noted several KRG projects had been stopped due to the reasons mentioned above that were uncontrollable by the KRG.

The PM explained the investment in Kurdistan was four billion USD in 2007, but now it has $47 billion in foreign and local investment.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany