Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (cabinet.gov.krd) –

In a speech, Prime Minister Barzani thanked Japan for financing the construction of the center and all parties who played a role in building the center.

Below is the transcript of Prime Minister’s speech:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning. I would like to welcome you all to the inauguration ceremony of the training and capacity building centre of the Ministry of Electricity of the Kurdistan Regional Government. I would like to welcome the representatives of the Embassy of Japan in Iraq, the consul of Japan’s consulate in Kurdistan, the officials and representatives of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the president of the German company, Luthardt, and UNDP. In addition to building this training centre and providing its needed equipment, in general all have contributed in renovating the electricity sector in the Kurdistan Region.

I would like to express my gratitude to the government of Japan for implementing this project as part of their loan program for Iraq. As for the Kurdistan’s part, the establishment of this training centre has been done as part of renovation of Kurdistan’s electricity sector which is also known as IQ-P10.

It is not for the first time that the government of Japan and JICA provide their support to the Kurdistan Region. Previously, they have implemented projects in different sectors here. We, the KRG, and the people of Kurdistan sincerely appreciate the works done by Japan in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. We again commend them for their work and we hope that they continue in their support to the Kurdistan Region.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Despite the challenges, the KRG has always been full of determination to commit to implementing the reform programs in all fields.

The opening of this centre for vocational and scientific training and capacity building for the employees of the Ministry of Electricity is part of the reform process. It comes from the government’s belief that in order for us to make progress in all sectors and walks of life we first need to improve the Human Resources sector and pay genuine attention to it.

The situation imposed on the Kurdistan Region for the last four years be it the cutting of the share of the national budget from the then Iraqi government or the fight against the ISIS terrorists and the fleeing of nearly two million refugees and IDPs to Kurdistan plus the drop of oil prices. Aside from the political issues in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, these all have become obstacles for the plans and the programs that were laid for improving all the aspect of public services by the KRG. However, in spite of that, the willingness of the KRG and the people of Kurdistan for progress and prosperity have remained strong just like before.

The KRG, even in its worst days, has always made progress in implementing its reform programs. We know very well that political disputes have always been the source of making false accusations and made discouraging comments or undervalued the government’s attempts to implement its reform initiatives. The steps made by the KRG in implementing its reform programs are many such as reforms in the fields of energy and oil, financial administration, revising existing employees and those on the government’s payroll, employees biometric registration, reducing the cost of electricity production, operation costs and rearranging the revenues and many other fields conducted on international standards.

If you consider all challenges and issues that engulfed the Kurdistan Region and the KRG, they were really huge problems and many believed, even friends and foes that the KRG would not withstand all these problems and it would collapse. But, with the support of the people of Kurdistan and the sacrificing of the heroic Peshmergas, the Kurdistan Region has persevered and withstood all the challenges as it learned lessons from the experiences and recovered step by step.

After the incidents of last year, many attempts were made to undermine the existence of the Kurdistan Region, but the Kurdistan Region with the support of its patient people and its government persistent efforts faced all hardship and risk and regained its deserved position in Iraq, the region and the world.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, as we all are here for the inauguration of this training centre for the Ministry of electricity. A modern state-of-the-art centre that is equipped with new laboratories and necessary tools to further develop the vocational and scientific skills of the employees of the Ministry of Electricity. This is the result of KRG’s seriousness and those brave decisions taken in tough days. KRG will believe in these decisions and will continue on implementing them.

As Mr. Hoger Shali the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Electricity has noted, I hope that this centre can be utilized not only by the employees of the Ministry of Electricity, but also by all other ministries, departments and agencies of the KRG and also by the international organizations working in Kurdistan. All of them can arrange learning courses, training courses and workshops for any activity related to human resources and capacity building.

I hope that the results of the trainings and activities that would be conducted in this centre will have an effective impact in bettering management, solving the issues of electricity and reduces the over-consumption of electricity. This project alongside the anticipated smart-meter project for electricity could help to eradicate the problem of load-shedding in the Kurdistan Region once and for all.

Once more I applaud the Ministry of Electricity, its acting Minister Dr Ashti Hawrami and its deputy Minister Mr. Hoger Shali and its employees, the JICA, Luthardt, UNDP and all who had a role in making this project a success.

Here I call upon all Kurdistani factions to be united and form a joint Kurdistani program when they negotiate the formation of the next Iraqi government. Our main goal is to bring about a real sincere partnership in Iraq and attain the constitutional rights for the Kurdistan Region.

In conclusion, I salute our fallen heroes, the Peshmergas martyrs, who recently sacrificed their life in an operation against terrorists and I wish a speedy recovery for the injured ones. I salute all the martyrs of Kurdistan. For defeating terrorism, we are ready to cooperate in any way with Iraq and we hope that the International Coalition will continue their support to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.

Thank you.