Erbil, Kurdistan-Iraq, 6 May
2006. The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had the honor to host
a major commercial delegation from Sweden this week.
The group was headed by Ambassador Anita Gradin, and included
Sweden’s Ambassador to Iraq, Karin Roxman, and a number of Embassy
and Foreign Ministry officials. The objective of the delegation was
to enhance trade relations between Sweden and the Kurdistan Region
of Iraq.
12 major Swedish companies participated in the delegation from the
Swedish Trade Council, including representatives of Food Processing
Industries, Telecommunications, Transportation, Education and
Vocational Training, Health Services, and Manufacturing sectors.
The group met with KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani who updated
them on plans to improve the Kurdistan region’s foreign investment
opportunities.
“Foreign investment is one of the most important and productive
economic activities and is a major priority for the KRG,” noted
Prime Minister Barzani.
“Our new unified government will be moving quickly to establish new
procedures and opportunities for foreign investment in an attempt to
attract new overseas business to the Region. Direct foreign
investment creates high-quality jobs for our people, and provides
training and work experience that we cannot obtain without
international investors and partners.”
The delegation met with the Ministries of Industry and Electricity,
Agriculture and Irrigation, Reconstruction and Housing,
Transportation and Communication and Municipalities, as well as
number of local politicians.
They also held a very productive session with local business leaders
in Erbil and Suleimaniyah at the respective Chambers of Commerce.
The delegation agreed that this was an important first step in
building new relationships between the Swedish business sector and
Kurdistan Region and were optimistic about the potential for doing
business in the region.
This is the second visit of a significant commercial delegation in a
week, following the highly successful visit of a group of
business leaders from the Czech
Republic.
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