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Iraqi Kurdistan eager for Korean investment
23.8.2007
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August 23, 2007
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan region (Iraq), --
Erbil, The capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, is known to
us only as the base of the Zaytun Unit, a contingent
of Korean troops. In fact, Erbil is a growing market
in the Middle East. With reconstruction underway,
the Kurdistan autonomous region of Iraq has become a
new economic battleground for multinational
corporations. The Korean government banned Koreans
from traveling to Iraq after the beheading of Kim
Sun-il in 2004, but since February it has been
issuing limited permits for travel to Erbil.
Some 3,700 American soldiers have been killed in
Iraq since 2003, but American businessmen are still
rushing into the country. It's common to see young
men in sunglasses speeding through the streets in
Toyotas or Land Cruisers with the Stars and Stripes
emblazoned on their doors.
Some 400 multinationals from the U.S., Britain,
Turkey, Dubai, and even Norway have arrived in
Erbil. The hotel occupancy rate downtown exceeds 90
percent. A Lebanese enterprise is building a giant
shopping mall in the center of town with an
investment of some W1 trillion (US$1=W944).
Why is Erbil, a city with no serviceable factories,
so popular? Oil. Iraqi Kurdistan sits on a huge oil
field, estimated to hold six percent of the entire
world's oil deposits and 40 percent of Iraq's oil
reserves. In addition, security here is relatively
better than it is in other regions of Iraq. Thus
Erbil is functioning as an outpost for companies
looking to advance into the other Iraqi regions in
the future.
Local residents are very interested in Korean
companies. Not long ago senior officials of the
Kurdistan Regional Government invited a group of
Koreans to dinner. During the dinner, the Korean
soap "Stairway to Heaven" was playing on the TV.
The tablecloth featured the logo of the Red Devils,
supporters of the Korean national soccer squad,
along with the word "Corea." "The Koreans are our
friends," the Kurdish government officials stressed.
The successes of the Zaytun Unit have left a
favorable impression on the Kurds, but the Korean
business presence in the area is still negligible.
The most Korean companies have done in the region is
small-scale construction projects, including a
government hospital being built by the Korea
International Cooperation Agency. "Within the
Kurdistan Regional Government, the atmosphere is
much more favorable to Korea than to Turkey, the
U.S., Britain or China," said Sinjari, the chairman
of KoriKurdi, a Korean-Iraqi joint venture.
"The government is very regretful that Korean
businesses have so little presence here."
chosun com
Since 1991, the Kurds of Iraq achieved self-rule in
part of the country. Today's teenagers are the first
generation to grow up under Kurdish rule. In the new
Iraqi Constitution, it is referred to as Kurdistan
region. Kurdistan region has all the trappings of an
independent state -- its own constitution, its own
parliament, its own flag, its own army, its own
border, its own border patrol, its own national
anthem, its own education system, its own
International airports, even its own stamp inked
into the passports of visitors.
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