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Kurdistan PM's speech: With investors'
help we'll be producers again
12.11.2006
KRG Office of Foreign Relations |
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Sulaimaniyah,
Kurdistan Region (Iraq), November 11, 2006
Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani's speech at the
opening day of the Second Annual Kurdistan DBX
International Trade Show in Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan
Region. The trade show runs from 11th to 14th
November.
2nd Annual Kurdistan DBX International Trade Show,
Sulaimaniyah, Kurdistan-Iraq, 11-14 November 2006
Speech by H. E. Nechirvan Barzani Prime Minister,
Kurdistan Regional Government 11 November 2006
Participants, distinguished guests. Good morning and
welcome all to this event, the second international
trade show, in the City of Sulaimaniyah on the
reconstruction of Iraq. |
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister
Nechirvan Barzani |
My thanks to the sponsors and organizers for
providing this opportunity and for making elaborate
arrangements for so many participants to attend who
have made the effort to join us here today. I wish
you all success.
Many of you have heard me say it: “Kurdistan is open
for business”. This trade show is further evidence
of this fact. The entire Kurdistan Region is ready
for business and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
will do its best to be supportive.
Today, all over the Kurdistan Region we see evidence
of economic growth and development. Every enterprise
offers new products and services, and new work
opportunities. All of these endeavors help improve
the living conditions of our people.
We know very well that we have only just begun and
that we have a long way to go. We have much work
ahead of us, and we expect to face many obstacles as
we simultaneously learn and act to serve the needs
and aspirations of our people.
Our regional government continues to actively
improve basic services that have been neglected for
decades. The support and patience of our people are
the keys to success at this early stage in taking
appropriate steps to solve our problems.
No political entity, no matter how strong, can face
the challenges of today’s world without having a
strong economy. The existence of a stable political
system, a secure and peaceful environment, and a
legal framework to develop policies, programmes, and
projects are all critically important for economic
growth.
We are pleased that the political situation in the
Kurdistan Region improves day by day, and the
security situation is becoming more stable. The
participation in this trade fair of more than 300
companies, domestic and foreign, from more than 30
countries is further evidence of this.
The KRG is committed to the Constitution that the
majority of people in Iraq voted for. Our endeavors
have been, and will remain, within the framework of
our constitutional rights.
The Kurdistan Region is a safe, secure, and stable
part of Iraq. It is your gateway to the greater
Iraqi market. This trade fair is one of many
illustrations of this fact. Sulaimaniyah, Duhok,
Erbil and all the cities and townships of the
Kurdistan Region are ready to welcome you to
establish and develop your enterprises.
Here I would like to thank the Suleimaniah Chamber
of Commerce, the Governor of Sulaimaniyah, the
Iraqi-American Chamber of Commerce, and all those
who have been helpful in making this trade show a
success. I also take this opportunity to emphasize
that the KRG welcomes the private sector – its
investors and entrepreneurs - and offers all its
capabilities so that they can participate
successfully in the reconstruction of our country.
With the unification of two administrations, the KRG
has come together with the spirit of one team to
enact the Kurdistan Investment Law, which is
progressive and attractive to investors. This law
has authorized the establishment of the Kurdistan
Investment Board to support those who wish to
participate in the reconstruction of our country.
Here I would like to direct my speech towards the
businessmen, investors, and business community here
in our country. We want to strengthen our economy.
We want to establish a proper industrial base in our
country. We need your participation to help
reconstruct the Kurdistan Region. We have to try
together to solve our problems. We especially want
to provide more work opportunities for our youth and
unemployed people.
This trade fair is yet another opportunity to convey
the message of the Kurdistan Region. We are serious
about our policy and our position. We want serious
partners to work with. We believe in equal
opportunities for everybody. The KRG itself is a
reflection of the social composition of the
Kurdistan Region.
Having this trade fair in the beloved City of
Sulaimaniyah offers new opportunities for those who
are serious about working with us. We are optimistic
about the future of our people. While it is true
that we are at a delicate stage, we shall pursue our
future in accordance with the law and in full
consideration of our constitutional rights.
This trade fair in Sulaimaniyah is an opportunity to
introduce foreign, national and local companies to
each other. There are many areas for teams of
experts to study fully and to make recommendations.
We very much look forward to new and proven
technologies, successful experience and professional
expertise to rapidly advance our economic growth and
development.
We support and encourage joint projects in the form
of joint venture activities. We know this fact very
well: not only the Kurdistan market is connected
within itself, but the whole Iraqi market is tied
together.
Kurdistan's society feels proud of its culture and
its attitudes regarding tolerance, coexistence and
acceptance of each other, and this is a feature of
our success. We in Kurdistan, whether Turkoman,
Chaldean, Assyrian, Kurd, or Arab, regardless of our
ethnic or religious background, we are all working
together to rebuild our country.
In the past, with all its resources, Iraq in
general, and the Kurdistan Region in particular, has
not seen the progress that was possible because of
the distorted policies of the Ba'ath regime. We all
have to try to compensate for the oppression,
injustices and deprivations that our people have
suffered in the past.
Rebuilding and reconstruction and modernizing are
difficult tasks. They need time, capabilities,
financial resources, dedication and patience.
Therefore, here I will stress to investors that this
trade fair today is the proper opportunity to enter
the market of the Kurdistan Region and to work
shoulder to shoulder with us in the tasks ahead.
Your participation shows your commitment, especially
when the exhibition is about the reconstruction of
Iraq.
The KRG has at this stage identified the main
priorities. We want to place great attention on the
importance of the industrial sector and the
establishment of an industrial base in the Region.
We want to become producers again as we once were,
but with modern production methods to meet our needs
and to provide opportunities to increase our
people's income. We want to upgrade the level of
services. We want to improve the living conditions
of our people. We have expansive underutilized lands
and we need to pay more attention to the
agricultural sector in meeting our food
requirements, expanding job opportunities through
agro-business, and increasing incomes.
This can be achieved with policies that will direct
us to a state of self-sufficiency, food security and
the renovation of the economic infrastructure of the
country. The peace, stability and security that
prevail in the Kurdistan Region will make our task
less difficult, so that we all start to work
together. But we have a lot of challenges and
obstacles ahead of us. While it is true that we have
made decisions to pursue a secure, stable, and
progressive future that our people deserve, the time
available to us is not unlimited.
Iraq is a rich country. It has abundant natural and
human resources. Today, Sulaimaniyah welcomes you,
offering you business and investment opportunities.
It is my pleasure to see this outstanding
participation from foreign countries. I wish to
thank the embassies, consulates, and chambers of
commerce for their hard work in organizing this
exhibition.
Now you are here, your partners from the Kurdistan
Region and Iraq are participating with you in this
trade fair. You have the chance to see for yourself,
through your own eyes, the opportunities available.
We want all of Iraq to be reconstructed within the
framework of a democratic and federal system, within
the framework of the new Constitution of Iraq, to
establish a modern economic system. We believe that
business language is the best language in today's
world to bring people closer to each other. We are
confident that this kind of attitude would lead to
stability, peace, and security throughout Iraq and
all over the world.
I am pleased to see that the private sector of
Kurdistan and Iraq is about to step forward and
participate wholeheartedly in the rebuilding of our
country. I have said in the past that without the
enthusiastic and successful involvement of the
private sector we cannot succeed. We have great
hopes in you, in the private sector, in investors,
domestic and foreign, offering your capital and
devoting your efforts so that we reconstruct our
country.
Finally, I am pleased and privileged to meet with
you here in beloved Sulaimaniyah, the city of
innovation and sacrifice. Once again, thank you. I
wish you all success.
krg org
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