Kurdistan Economy

[Anthea]

Around 60 French companies
to invest in Kurdistan

Some 60 French companies are set to visit and invest in the Kurdistan Region in the coming days as part of efforts between Erbil and Paris to strengthen bilateral ties, a Kurdish official said on Monday

“Fifty to 60 French companies were supposed to visit the Kurdistan Region this month, but due to the Iran-Israel war and the instability of the regional airspace, it was postponed a bit. Now we are in contact with the French consulate [in Erbil] to determine an appropriate time,” Bargasht Akreyi, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Region’s Board of Investment, told Rudaw on Monday.

The initiative is expected to create thousands of job opportunities and pave the way for French brands to establish a presence in the Region.

Akreyi further stated that the expected investment of French companies in the Kurdistan Region "will lead to the creation of thousands of job opportunities."

The companies are from the agriculture, energy, technology, and tourism sectors, according to Akreyi. They are set to meet with local companies in the same fields to foster mutual understanding.

"Several famous French brands are set to open branches of their companies in the Kurdistan Region,” he noted.

Officials and business leaders from Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and France met in Paris in May for a major forum to boost trade and investment, with Baghdad and Erbil pushing to expand international partnerships by presenting the country as stable, attractive destination for foreign companies.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has been stepping up efforts to diversify the economy by strengthening the private sector.

As of May 2024, French investments in the Kurdistan Region stood at around $3 billion across multiple sectors, according to France’s Consul General in Erbil Yann Braem.

The bond between France and the Kurdish people dates back to the 1980s, when Danielle Mitterrand, then First Lady of France, became a vocal advocate for Kurds oppressed under the regime of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

Mitterand played an instrumental role in the establishment of the no-fly zone over the Kurdistan Region after the 1991 Gulf War, providing protection that enabled Kurds to establish autonomy

She remains affectionately known as the “Mother of the Kurds” and inaugurated the first Kurdish parliament in 1992.

France was also among the first nations to open a consulate in Erbil after the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, and played a critical role in supporting Kurdish and Iraqi forces during the war against the Islamic State (ISIS) that began in 2014.

https://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/070720254

[Anthea]

KRG Expands Food Security
and Boosts Exports

The Kurdistan Government’s (KRG) ninth cabinet is significantly expanding the region’s food security and industrial capacity, laying the groundwork to strengthen domestic production and increase exports to international markets

As part of these efforts, the Kurdistan Region has begun exporting products including rice, sumac, tahini, pomegranates, honey, and apples to the UAE, Gulf countries, and Europe.

A key component of this strategy has been the construction of large-scale grain silos. The KRG has completed new silos in Qushtapa (Erbil province), Kalar (Sulaimani province), and Bardarash-Rovia (Duhok province), each with a storage capacity of 40,000 tons and costs ranging from 18 to 21 billion dinars.

Meanwhile, a silo project in Halabja province, with the same capacity, is 25% complete and estimated to cost 26 billion dinars. Together, these facilities provide a total storage capacity of 160,000 tons across the region.

In the industrial sector, 977 factories have received new operating licenses under the ninth cabinet, raising the total number of licensed factories in the Kurdistan Region to 4,547.

The region has also seen significant growth in commercial activity, with 7,227 local companies, 216 branches of foreign companies, and 358 branches of Baghdad-based firms now operating in Kurdistan, bringing the total number of commercial entities to 7,801.

Agricultural development has been another major focus. Over 30,000 greenhouses have been established, supporting 3,813 farmers, while 101 new cold storage facilities have been built to improve supply chain infrastructure.

Six factories for potato-based products and 11 other agricultural processing factories have also been re-activated.

As a result of these initiatives, agricultural investment in the Kurdistan Region has surged from 1.8% to 8%, bolstering both food self-sufficiency and export capacity.

These strategic measures underscore the ninth cabinet’s commitment to advancing economic diversification and promoting Kurdistan as a hub for high-quality local products in international markets.

https://www.basnews.com/en/babat/888635