Kurdistan Chamber of Commerce welcomes British business delegation
The delegation, visiting the Kurdistan Region this week, includes business representatives and trade officials from the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the British Government trade department, and the Iraq Britain Business Council (IBBC), a British-based not-for-profit organisation, with offices in Erbil since 2012, which facilitates trade exchanges between Britain and Iraq including the Kurdistan Region.
Minister Falah Mustafa, the Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations, addressing the delegation and the members of the Kurdistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, ‘When we talk about our relations with the UK, we remember how, in 1991, Britain played a major role in establishing a safe heaven in the Kurdistan Region that helped us reach where we are today.’
Minister Mustafa noted that Britain has today become Kurdistan’s partner of choice and discussed the many areas in which the region has been learning from the UK. He also expressed his hopes that British companies will continue to get involved with and help develop Kurdistan further.
The British Consul General, Hugh Evans, pointing out the notable size of this joint delegation, highlighted the year-on-year increase in the number of companies wanting to join trade missions and the growing interest in doing business in Kurdistan. The companies come from a broad spectrum of sectors some of which include engineering, healthcare, higher education and consultancy services. He reiterated Minister Mustafa’s words, saying, ‘The presence of this large delegation here helps us achieve our aims, which are to make Great Britain a partner of choice to Kurdistan.’
Baroness Nicholson expressed her pleasure of being in Kurdistan and spoke about her hopes for an increase in the presence of UK companies in Iraq as a whole and in Kurdistan in particular. She said, ‘I am very proud that the IBBC has now got an office in Erbil and am sure this will only help enhance our business relations.’
The Head of the Kurdistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Dara Jalil Khayat, spoke about the activities of the chamber and their members and expressed his hopes for the relationship to continue to work both ways in which the Kurdish companies are able to visit the UK with ease to explore the business and investment opportunities in Britain. Mr Khayat thanked the KRG Department of Foreign Relations and the KRG Representative Office in the UK for their ongoing efforts and assistance in fostering these relations between Kurdistan and the United Kingdom.
