Representing over 3 million companies, the US Chamber of Commerce could provide a wealth of cooperative business ventures for the Kurdistan Region to embark on.
“Today we bring a delegation of more than 50 business leaders and nearly 30 companies to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The members of that delegation are drawn from a range of sectors and industries,” Steve Lutes, vice president of Middle East Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce, told business delegations and KRG officials after signing the memoranda in Erbil.
“We are here because we are optimistic about the future of Iraq, about the future of Kurdistan Region in Iraq,” he added. “I sincerely hope we will see more American companies coming here doing business and investing.”
Lutes said they “look forward to a lot of future work and activity together.”
The memoranda of understanding were signed in areas of agriculture, health, finance, energy, logistics, telecommunications, and many other fields.
Among the agreements reached at the event was one for biometric software development. "The US office of Security Cooperations will fund software development and carry the costs for the required hardware to develop a Human Resources management system for the Ministry of Peshmerga,” Hiwa Afendi, Head of the KRG Department of Information Technology, told Rudaw English.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani also took part in the event where he promised help and facilitation to investors in the Region and encouraged the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to create better conditions for investors.
“Kurdistan Region has a suitable environment for investment and we will facilitate, assist and support investors,” Barzani said. “We are anxiously waiting for the US private and investment sector to play a big role here. They can work together with the local private sector and government.”
“We will encourage the government and parliament to create more appropriate conditions for investors.”
Barzani assured the business delegation that their investment in the Kurdistan Region will be protected.
“We reassure you that we will support you and your investment and rights will be protected in the Kurdistan Region.”
The Kurdish president also touched on his endeavors to tackle corruption and minimize bureaucracy in order to facilitate the work of investors in the Region.
“We have always tried, worked and will work to eliminate shortages, weaknesses, routine and barriers getting in the way of investors. We have conducted legal and executive especially financial administration reforms. We have confronted corruption and irregularities and we will continue doing this.”
Barzani spoke about a new phase of relations between Erbil and Baghdad, urging that they both learn from past mistakes and commit to the constitution and the principles of federalism.
The KRG’s relations with Baghdad hit rock bottom in late 2017 after the Kurdistan independence referendum.
Already frosty relations over independent oil sales and the KRG’s share of the federal budget came to a head following the non-binding vote when Baghdad imposed an embargo on international flights to and from the Region’s airports and launched a military operation against the Peshmerga in the disputed territories. Relations have vastly improved since Abdul-Mahdi came to power.
“We are beginning a new phase of relations with the federal government, and we together will take new steps toward cooperation and coordination on the basis of the constitution and federalism,” Barzani said.
We both should learn from our past mistakes and benefit from them in a bid to take steps toward a better future. There are serious and dedicated efforts on both parts to resolve all the problems. Having good relations between Baghdad and Erbil will reflect well on economic and trade activities as well as investment in the Kurdistan Region and throughout Iraq.”
The signing of the memoranda is a show of Washington confidence in the Kurdistan Region in what is a tumultuous time for a wider Middle East facing rising Iran-US tensions, and for a Kurdistan Region still struggling to get back onto its feet after four years of economic crisis exacerbated by the fight against Islamic State (ISIS).
