PM Barzani, Saudi investment official address mutual ties
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Tuesday met with Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid A. al-Falih at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Our relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia dates back to the past century.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) January 16, 2024
At #wef24 with Minister @Khalid_AlFalih, we agreed to:
• Prioritize economic development
• Exchange trade missions
• Unlock partnerships in finance, tech, and infrastructure#KurdistanAtDavos pic.twitter.com/s1l6fVgLmj
The Saudi minister expressed his condolences to the Kurdistan Region and stated that Saudi Arabia was in favor of ending the attacks and tensions in the region.
Al-Falih further disclosed that a large Saudi business delegation will be visiting Iraq and the Kurdistan Region soon.
Barzani emphasized the importance of developing bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region and Saudi Arabia, referring to their long-standing and special relations.
An Erbil governorate delegation in early July 2023 visited Saudi Arabia and met with the country’s top investment officials, including Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih.
At that meeting, the Kurdish delegation laid out a proposal to their Saudi counterparts on the provincial plan to finish a water treatment project in Erbil in a bid to secure reliable water sources and reduce reliance on groundwater.
Moreover, the Saudi Government recently provided the Kurdish language in Mecca for pilgrims performing Hajj. Approximately 37,000 pilgrims from both Iraq's Kurdistan Region and its federal provinces had performed Hajj in 2023.
The two sides also share strong agricultural ties, with the Saudis relying on Kurdish potatoes for its fast food industry.
The majority of the potatoes are requested by international fast-food chains, such as KFC, McDonald’s and Hardee's, which view both the quality and price of the product as unrivaled.
