ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Turkish consul general said Wednesday that his country's companies have the lion's share in the success story of the Kurdistan Region in terms of development.
"The backbone of the development success of the Region, I'm very proud to say, is the Turkish companies. We are the number one foreign investor in Kurdistan Region. And the number of companies are not maybe at a high pace, but it's increasing," Erman Topcu told Rudaw's Payam Sarbast.
He added that Turkish companies have also created jobs in the Region and made investments in various fields.
The Kurdistan Region accounts for the majority of Turkish investments in Iraq. More than half of the foreign companies operating in the Region are Turkish.
Erbil heavily relies on Turkish imports for its domestic consumption. Trade volume between them exceeds $5 billion a year. Turkey also serves as a transit route for oil exports from the Kurdistan Region.
Kurdish and Turkish officials have exchanged regular high-level visits in recent years, alongside continued Turkish investment in construction, infrastructure, and consumer goods sectors across the Region.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani at the presidential palace in Istanbul in May.
Ankara's engagement with the Kurdistan Region deepened significantly after 2007, as Turkish firms moved to capture a market fueled by rising consumer demand in the Region. Ties strengthened further from 2012 onward, when Turkey began cultivating closer relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government.
.jpeg&w=3840&q=75)
