DUBAI: Iraq’s Kurdistan is a gateway for Turkish firms to explore the wider Iraqi market, President Nechirvan Barzani said as he sought to lure Turkish investors on Sunday by promising them business opportunities in the semi-autonomous region.
Given the size of the Iraqi market, Turkish firms have many investment opportunities to explore, Barzani told Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus amid talks aiming to improve bilateral economic relations.
On the region’s economic ties with Ankara, Barzani described the relations as “strategic,” assuring Turkish investors of a hassle-free experience of doing business in the region.
The Turkish minister, who arrived in Irbil a day earlier alongside a trade delegation, said the desire to boost economic ties to greater levels was mutual, as he met with officials from across the semiautonomous region’s political spectrum.
Iraq is among Turkey’s largest markets for exports, which reached $1.9 billion last year.
Mehmet Muş also held a meeting with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of State for Minority Affairs Aydin Maruf Selim in Irbil.
Muş was welcomed by Selim, a minister of Turkmen descent, as well as Turkey’s Consul-General in Irbil Hakan Karaçay and Consul-General Mehmet Küçüksallı of Mosul.