Top US business lobby launches first certified mission to Kurdistan Region: VP

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The US Chamber of Commerce has organized its first certified business delegation to the Kurdistan Region, Vice President Steve Lutes told Rudaw on Wednesday, saying the step was endorsed by the US Department of Commerce.

Lutes said the chamber has brought delegations to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region “for many, many years,” but this is the first time it is leading one that is “actually certified, which means, essentially, the endorsement of the US Department of Commerce.”

The delegation includes companies from “many different sectors and many different industries,” he added, stressing that the goal is to “open eyes… so that business leaders that are visiting for the first time understand the ecosystem, understand the range of opportunities, and actually start building relationships that can lead to investments.”

He noted that the mission was initiated after Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s visit to the US in May, where Barzani encouraged them to bring a delegation “that reflects the entire economy.”

In Washington, Barzani oversaw the signing of two major energy agreements with US-based companies HKN Energy and WesternZagros, valued at a combined $110 billion over their lifespan. Baghdad has rejected the deals as illegal, with the Iraqi oil ministry insisting that all energy partnerships must go through the federal government.

Speaking on the importance of resolving disputes between Erbil and Baghdad, Lutes stressed the need to restart oil exports through the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline (ITP).

“It’s very important… to see the ITP, that pipeline reopened, and to see the oil, to see the energy flow again. So for us, that will be an important signal,” he said.

Exports through the pipeline have been suspended since March 2023, after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying Turkey violated a 1973 pipeline agreement by allowing Erbil to export oil independently since 2014.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers on Wednesday reviewed progress in talks with Baghdad on revenue sharing and resuming exports, directing its delegation to continue negotiations to reach an agreement as soon as possible.

Washington and Erbil maintain close relations, with the United States a key supporter of the Kurdistan Region since it gained autonomy in the 1990s. The US has played a central role in developing the Kurdish Peshmerga, leading the global coalition against ISIS and backing ongoing reform efforts. It is also preparing to open a new consulate general in Erbil, which will be the largest in the world.

The following is the full transcript of the interview with Steve Lutes:

Rudaw: Today, we are joined by Steve Lutes, Vice President of the US Chamber of Commerce, who's leading a high-level American business delegation to the Kurdistan Region. The visit comes at a time of growing interest in strengthening economic ties between the United States and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We will be discussing the goals of this mission, the opportunities for the US investment, and the future of US-Kurdistan economic relations. Thank you so much, Steve, for being on Rudaw.

Steve Lutes: Diyar, thank you. It's great to be back in the studio. It's great to see you, and really appreciate the opportunity and invitation to be with you today and talk to the viewership of Rudaw. Really appreciate it

Let’s dive in. Tell us about the delegation you're leading. When do you plan to go, and what's the key objective of this visit at this time?

Yeah. Well, first off, I think it's really important to put it in context. We have, as the US Chamber, been taking delegations to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for many, many years. So this is another in that journey. This specific delegation came out of the visit to Washington, DC by His Excellency Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani. He had encouraged us this time to bring a delegation that reflects the entire economy. Our last two delegations, you may recall, focused on we called it farm to fork, and it was very focused on agriculture and the food and the entire value chain of the food industry. This delegation will have companies from across many different sectors and many different industries. So we're very excited about that. It's the first time ever to have a delegation that's led by the US Chamber to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq that is actually certified, which means, essentially, the endorsement of the US Department of Commerce. So we're very excited, you know, to have their official support. And they've been great partners in this effort.

Does the administration support this visit to the Kurdistan Region?

Yes, that's correct.

Do you plan only to go to the Kurdistan Region, or do you plan to visit other parts of Iraq?

Well, this delegation were focused just on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. We had, earlier this year, a delegation that we took to Baghdad and focused on federal Iraq, if you will. But for this delegation, we're exclusively going to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and we'll be there very soon. Actually, I've got my plane tickets

That’s good, so as you go to Kurdistan. How do you see the role of the Kurdistan Region in attracting US investment compared to other parts of Iraq and the Middle East as a whole region?

Yeah, well, I would say, you know, we, of course, work across the entire Middle East region, and right now there's a lot of interest from American companies across the region, from the Gulf to Iraq to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, I would say, with the administration reestablishing diplomatic ties with Syria. There's been a strong interest in opportunities for American companies in Syria. But what has been important, I think, to remember is that US companies have been in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for many decades, and I think we are hopefully going to see the fruits of this visit reaped in the coming weeks and months. Again, we have companies that are, to my knowledge, going for the first time to Erbil, to the Kurdistan Region, and we hope for them to, you know, see things firsthand. There's nothing like going and talking to people like we're doing in person, one to one, and walking the streets, you know, going and visiting projects, hearing directly from ministers, from business leaders in the Kurdistan Region, and looking to develop those relationships, to understand what are the projects, what are the investment opportunities, and to touch it, feel it, if you will, and go and experience it on your own with This delegation. So we're very excited about that.

Do you plan to go to Erbil only, or do you plan to visit other cities as well, Sulaimani, Halabja, and Duhok? As you know, there might be lots of opportunities in these cities as well.

Yeah, no. Great question. You know, the delegation itself, it's gotten to be so big. It's over 30 companies. I think that means around 40 to 45 delegates. It's hard to move people around, you know, say, from Erbil to Suli [Sulaimani] to Duhok. So what we're looking to do is basically put them in a place and then have people, you know, representatives of the Duhok, of Sulaimani, of other parts of the Kurdistan Region, come and speak to them, we just find we're trying to be most efficient and effective with the delegates’ time while they're on the ground. And you know, we're just excited that they're coming to Erbil, and we're excited that they'll be exposed to opportunities across the entirety of the Kurdistan Region.

When we speak about the US-Kurdistan economic relations, many people think that it's primarily about the energy sector. But can you explain to our audience, beyond the energy sector, what other industries of the Kurdistan Region offer the potential for the US companies and US investment?

Well, again, really good question, and I would say first and foremost, a lot of credit to the energy sector. I think it has been a strength of that relationship. And I think we want to continue to see that grow and deepen. And we have companies like Hillwood, HKN, WesternZagros who were with us just a few months ago with the prime minister. We want to see those relationships continue to grow, because it really is foundational, and it's an anchor in the relationship with this delegation. Though we're looking to explore opportunities, say in the digital and in the AI technologies. We're looking at manufacturing, we're looking we will go back to food and agriculture, of course. We're also looking at healthcare. We have some companies in that space, and just infrastructure broadly. And then don't forget, you know, hospitality, the idea of tourism as well. We're really trying to explore across the entire remit of the economy. And I think it reflects the vision and the objectives of the prime minister, and where I think he sees a lot of natural relationship between the priorities and the capability that the Kurdistan Region brings to the table, with the talent and expertise and capital of US companies that can match those opportunities.

As you have experience visiting Kurdistan last year and have spoken with companies planning to invest in the region, to your knowledge, what specific reforms or assurances do these companies want to see in the Kurdistan Region before committing to large-scale investment?

Yeah. Well, first off, I think a lot of companies just look at the simple ROI, you know, am I going to make a, you know, good profit in this? Because a lot of the capital, you know, it's fluid. You know, you could invest, you say, in a project in the Kurdistan Region, or you could invest somewhere else in the Middle East or somewhere around the globe. So I think part of the challenge, but also part of the opportunity, is to sell us companies on why Kurdistan, why? And here in northern Iraq, what special is going on there? And I think that can happen for sure in terms of the reforms, though, I think the business environment, and there's a lot of credit to go around with different officials. I won't start naming names, but there have been reforms on basically the ownership laws, making sure that you can take some of that profit and repatriate that back home, maybe, or reinvest it. But to have that flexibility, to have that option, I know, you know, we don't like for companies to have to get into lawsuits, into legal, but also it's a factor that companies look at, what if we do get into a situation where we disagree, perhaps with our original partners? And you know, what does that look like in terms of adjudicating that, you know, these are things that companies consider, that they evaluate when they're looking at the investment environment. And I think, you know, companies are also looking at, you know, the relationship between the Kurdistan Region and central Iraq. And I think again, to the credit of the leadership, both in Erbil with His Excellency Prime Minister Barzani, and, of course, the Prime Minister of Iraq, Prime Minister [Mohammed Shia’ al-]Sudani. I think that there has been an effort, you know, to bring together and have a concerted effort that sells Iraq and sells the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to US companies.

You mentioned the relations between Erbil and Baghdad, so how the political stability is essential for the US companies to invest in the region and how it shapes the discussions between you and the Kurdistan Region, because still, many disputes not been solved, and even some US companies who are investing in Kurdistan region, they face a lot of issues and a lot of difficulties, so how this shapes your discussions with the Kurdistan Region and here in the United States, as you have the support of the administration?

Yeah, no, it's, I think it's very important that there's a sense that the trend is going in the right direction. You know, we have been very vocal in that. It's very important, for example, you know, one of these issues that's been out there for a while is to see the ITP, that pipeline reopened, and to see the oil, to see the energy flow again. So for us, that will be an important signal. But there's been other, as you said, friction points between Erbil and Baghdad. But again, I think the question that companies step back and look at is, what is the overall stability, what's the trajectory, the trend of that? And it seems that, you know that there's a willingness all around, you know, to try to figure these things out, to work together, to find the the agreements and the accommodations that everybody can live with, and say, let's do this together, and then let's work together going forward. Of course, you know the devil the work is always in the detail. So we'll look to see the results of that. We know that, you know, it's election season coming. I'm just a perennial optimist. I like to think that things, you know, people inevitably, you know, want to work together. And we're very hopeful. You know that will go through and have a have a productive, positive election that, again, will continue the reform agenda that's encouraging for US companies, be it in federal Iraq, be it in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, you know to come and invest in new business.

So in your point of view, you know that the Kurdistan Region wants to have strong economic ties with the US, also political ties, having a deeper economic relationship between the two. How this will help a broader relationship between Washington and Erbil?

Yeah, well, I'm not a politician, but I, you know, representing the interest of the business community. I can say that it's certainly, you know, to the advantage. You know, when that that business interest also aligns, you know, with a positive, productive, diplomatic and political relationship. So oftentimes those go hand in glove, and sometimes, you know, the economic the business relationship can actually then be used to perhaps strengthen political relationships. If, if politicians and diplomatic leaders see that US companies are willing to invest, you know that they're going to take a risk and go forward with projects or investments that gets political leaders thinking like, what are we missing? Or what should we be doing? You know, to help improve, you know, the relationship. So I think, you know, sometimes it's business leading the other sometimes it's politicians and diplomats leading business. But either way, a strong relationship overall is productive for everybody, and I think it's in our interest to see that with Iraq and certainly with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

I'm sure that you have heard that the Kurdistan Region wants to diversify its economy. So what roles do you see from these companies in supporting diversification of the coastal region's economy and giving up on dependency on oil?

Yeah, well, first off, it's a very worthy goal. I would say I'm very biased, but I think that US companies bring best in class. You know, when it comes to any of the sectors that you would be looking to diversify into, be it healthcare, be it technology, be it food and agriculture, I don't think you will find any others than US companies that are going to be there to lead the way when it comes to innovation, when it comes to wanting to hire locally and look to build capacity there in the Kurdistan Region. I just think that US companies bring a lot to the table beyond just investment dollars. I think they become parts of the community that they live and operate in. So I think there's a lot of dynamism that US companies can bring. And as the Kurdistan Region is on that diversification journey. We want to continue to bring more and more US companies, be they small, medium-sized enterprises, and startups, to large multinationals, to bring their wherewithal to help achieve that objective of economic diversification, which is very important.

Let's talk about the global challenges. How do global challenges, such as supply chain disruptions or energy transitions, affect the way that these companies look at the Kurdistan Region?

Well, I think whenever there's a challenge, there's also on the other side of the coin, if you will, there's an opportunity. And I think US companies are very astute to thinking about, how do we build resiliency within our supply chain? So to the extent that the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is thinking about, how do we position ourselves to think about US companies setting up shop here, to be a hub, you know, to bring redundancy, to bring resiliency to your supply chains, I think it's definitely something you know that in those discussions with leaders in the KRG, that's definitely something to delve into with business leaders as they think about, you know, opportunities in the Kurdistan Region, and that certainly includes in the energy sector as well.

So, when you go to Kurdistan, are you looking only to invest in Kurdistan, or do you want to have some investment opportunities that will also bring Kurdish businessmen and women to the United States to invest here as well?

Well, our focus is largely on assisting, supporting, encouraging US companies to do business, invest, find partners in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Iraq broadly in the Middle East, even more broadly. But we, of course, are, as an institution, are very supportive of the United States being open to investment from business leaders, investors, entrepreneurs in the Kurdistan Region as well. So while we may not be as hands on with that. We absolutely support that, and think that that's very important. And of course, this administration is very focused on bringing investment into the United States, so we at the US Chamber, of course, think that it's an incredibly great place to invest and do business within the borders of the United States, and there's opportunities across all 50 states, for investors from Iraq, from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. So we would encourage them, yes, to come find out, like we're doing with our business delegation. We encourage that type of review and come and explore and talk to business leaders here at the state level, at the federal level, at the local level, and learn more about opportunities in the United States as well.

So, I don't want to know the whole of your schedule, but how long do you plan to stay in the Kurdistan Region, and who do you plan to see? Is it just officials like the President of Kurdistan, the Prime Minister, and then the Chamber of Commerce, or are you going to see individual investors or businessmen or women in the Kurdistan Region as well?

Yeah. Well, we definitely look to our beyond the government, of course, and you name some of the officials that we'll be looking to see. We definitely have our institutional partner. You know, in the Federation of Kurdistan chambers, they are kind of our gateway, if you will, into tapping into the network of business leaders in the in the Kurdistan Region. So we rely on partners like that, you know, to make sure there's opportunities to match up with US companies, or if US companies are looking for particular businesses to align with, to explore joint ventures investments. We find that having an institutional partner like the Federation of Kurdistan chambers can help open those doors. So yes, we'll have activities with them. We'll have activities with our AmCham, our American Chamber of Commerce,l that's there in the Kurdistan Region. And of course, we'll look to see many of our friends in the government.

So every time people see a delegation come to their country. They want to see the results. Can you tell us what concrete steps or arrangements we should expect from these discussions or from your visit to the Kurdistan Region?

Yeah, you're absolutely right. And in week two, very much always want to see actual, you know, fruits reaped. You know, from these types of visit, what we don't do is micromanage. You know, for us at the Chamber, we believe in the free markets, and we also believe in companies to have the freedom to make their decisions, so we don't get down into the minutia of negotiating deals or contracts or agreements. But what we're trying to do is open eyes, you know, so that business leaders that are visiting for the first time understand the ecosystem, understand the range of opportunities, and actually start building relationships that can lead to investments, that can lead to action on bringing product, bringing services, to the Kurdistan Region, maybe working on a project that's there in the Kurdistan Region. Hopefully, sometimes companies inform us of announcements and things that they're doing. Sometimes we read about them, or perhaps hear about them on Rudaw.

That means it may happen that you will sign an agreement or have a ceremony for signing a contract between the Kurdistan and US investors?

Yeah, I think for this visit, it's largely to explore, you know, what are the opportunities across the economy? And perhaps as a follow on, we will hear about companies that that, maybe at the start, you know, from some discussions that they had on this trip, from those discussions, you know, moved ultimately, through the process into deals. If there's anything that will be signed that would be, you know, kind of quick and on the spot. So I'm not really anticipating those, but the whole intention of this delegation is to come and learn, explore, build relationships, and see what's there, because a lot of the companies that are coming are coming for the first time, you know, and you can't do a deal in just a few days, but we hope that we see deals that come as a result of this visit.

And you were there last time, and this is, I'm not sure if it’s the second time as a formal delegation. What makes you optimistic about this time's visit to the Kurdistan Region? What has changed since your last visit as a formal delegation with US investors and companies?

Well, first of all, just my DNA again, I'm an optimist, but I think what we have seen with the leadership of Prime Minister Barzani is consistency, is stability, and just acting on the vision. You know, sometimes you hear there's a vision, but you don't see a lot of action or follow-through. And clearly, when it comes to things like economic diversification and trying to empower some of these other sectors, build that out, I think we are seeing that action. That's partly why we are coming with a delegation that represents the range of the economy. So a lot of it just is built in the action that has been taken there by the leadership. And I just think, you know, we've historically just started to scratch the surface. A lot of it's in energy. I do think there's been progress made in food and agriculture in that space. But again, I think part of it is that we've just kind of tapped into some of the opportunity. So I think there's a lot of sectors that are underdeveloped when it comes to us participation, and we just want to unlock some of those opportunities for US companies, be it in healthcare, in technology, certainly more in energy, more in food and agriculture, but we really hope that this, this visit, turns into an unlocking of that entire kind of suite of economic, diverse sectors

I'll ask my last two questions. You're not politicians, but in business and investment terms, the Kurdistan Region held elections last October, but we still don't have a new government, and the parliament is not active. How does this concern you as US investors, or how are US investors concerned about the political developments in the Kurdistan Region and the events that have occurred in the last few weeks?

Yeah. Well, I do think, you know investors, at the end of the day, they track, you know, stability overall. And I think what they've seen with the Kurdistan Region is stability overall. Do investors get way down in the weeds, maybe in a specific sector, like, if there's going to be concern about how, for example, data is regulated? Is there a body you know, that doesn't have leadership, or that is waiting for somebody to be appointed, they might look at something like that, but generally speaking, I think, is their overall political stability, political leadership with a vision, and that a vision is being acted on. And that's the case, you know, with the Prime Minister and the President in the in the leadership that you have there at the end of the day. You know, we leave it in the hands of, you know, the people of the Kurdistan Region. You know, to move forward. You know, when it comes to the political process and make those decisions, that's not our role. But certainly, I think, as the investor community and as the private sector, we're looking at things, you know, oftentimes at a macro level, and looking for that overall stability,

Talking about the vision and looking ahead. How do you see the long-term vision for the Kurdistan and the United States economic relationship in the next five years or 10 years?

Well, I think it's a bright one. I do think that there again, we've just begun to scratch the surface of the potential when it comes to the economic diversification. We of course, want to see more in energy. We know there's been a lot on the infrastructure and the electricity power generation space, and that's great, and we would encourage more and more in that but I also think we will hopefully see over that three, 5 or 10, year period, more US companies participating in the diverse array of sectors in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and Iraq overall. Again, I think you're going to see a deepening and a broadening of the relationship when it comes to economic ties.

Thank you so much, Steve. Wishing you all the best with your delegation and your visit to the Kurdistan Region.

Thank you so much. We look forward to it and to reporting back after our visit. Thank you so much.

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