Kurdistan Region governors to visit Sanandaj for economy talks

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The governors of the Kurdistan Region’s provinces are set to visit the Kurdish city of Sanandaj in western Iran’s (Rojhelat) Kurdistan province together next week to focus on the Region’s economic development with Iran. 

Kurdistan Governor Arash Lihony announced on Sunday that Governors Omed Khoshnaw, Haval Abubakir, Ali Tarar, and Nuxsha Nasih of Erbil, Sulaimani, Duhok, and Halabja, respectively, will visit Sanandaj for the talks.

The governors of the Kurdish provinces of Kermanshah and Urmia will also participate in the meetings, Lihony said, as cited by the semi-official Tasnim news agency. 

“Until now, we have not been able to fully take advantage of the Iraqi market as needed, but considering our cultural relations, we can develop these relations,” Lihony said. 

“Developing our cultural relations will also help to develop economic relations between Iranian Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” Lihony said. 

In late Airl, Khoshnaw visited Iran’s Qazvin province and signed a memorandum of understanding to boost bilateral ties and strengthen economic cooperation. Per the deal, both provinces will facilitate investment and send delegations to establish ties in the fields of industry, commerce, agriculture, tourism, technology, and health. 

Iran and the Kurdistan Region enjoy good economic relations, sharing several border crossings.  A large number of Iranian companies work in the Region’s various sectors.

Iran is also a major trading partner for Iraq. Since the overthrow of the regime of Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have become two important destinations for Iranian goods.

In February, Iranian Consul General to Erbil Faramaz Asadi told Rudaw that Tehran and Erbil have shared “very strong and intertwined” relations since the establishment of the Islamic republic in 1979.