Kurdistan Trade & Investment Conference 2010

15-16 June 2010, London

“We welcome you to come and do business in Kurdistan. Private sector investment has been helping the economy of the Kurdistan Region, making it a hub for economic and construction activity and a gateway to the rest of Iraq. The Kurdistan Regional Government is committed to improving our business environment and making it more conducive to investment by the day.”
Prime Minister Barham Salih

The Building of Strong and Stable Civil Institutions in the Kurdistan Region
Address by Dr. Barham Salih,
Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government

Download PDF transcript of the PM's speech

See also media coverage, press releases and photos of the conference

Speakers included:
Prime Minister Barham Salih part 1 video / part 2 video Minister for Natural Resources Ashti Hawrami part 1 video / part 2 video / part 3 video Minister of Interior Karim Sinjari part 1 video / part 2 video / part 3 video Minister for Higher Education & Scientific Research Dlawer Ala’Aldeen part 1 video / part 2 video part 3 Video / part 4 video KRG High Representative to the UK Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman video		Minister for Trade and Industry Sinan Chalabi part 1 video / part 2 video Chairman of the Kurdistan Board of Investment Herish Muharam part 1 video / part 2 video Head of the Department of Foreign Affairs Falah Mustafa Bakir part 1 video / part 2 video KRG Representative to the USA Qubad Talabani video Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Jamil Sleiman Haider video

Kurdistan is open for business
The Kurdistan Region is a stable, resource-rich, emerging market with excellent opportunities across all sectors of the economy. With a democratically elected Prime Minister and President, Kurdistan is an autonomous region that welcomes foreign investment and engages positively with the wider international community commercially and politically. Kurdistan is also the secure gateway to Iraq – Kurdish ministers hold key positions in Baghdad and are fully committed to the development and establishment of the new, united Iraq. The region’s liberal investment law offers foreign investors a number of incentives, including customs relief, tax holidays and the freedom to repatriate profits.

The Conference
As well as providing a unique insight into the region and its economic potential for businesses and investors, the Conference offered unparalleled access to key Kurdistan Regional Government policy makers. Keynote speakers included government ministers, investors, representatives of the private sector and regional and economic experts. The Conference was chaired by Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, KRG High Representative to the UK.

The event was supported at the highest level in Kurdistan, with Prime Minister Barham Salih and his senior ministers giving their full backing.

The Conference helped delegates identify the best trade and investment opportunities in Kurdistan and how to access them. It also explained how this stable and open region is the commercial gateway to Iraq.

Who attended?

Banking & finance: HSBC, Credit Suisse, the Trade Bank of Iraq, Standard Chartered Bank, Forbes & Manhattan
Consumer: Pepsico
Construction: Lafarge, Caterpillar
Defence & aerospace: Aegis, BAE Systems, Lufthansa
Oil & gas: Shell, GE International, Heritage Oil, Genel Enerji, Korea National Oil Corporation
Professional services: PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Norton Rose, DLA Piper, YouGov
Telecoms: Asiacell, Motorola, Korek Telecom

The Conference took place on 15-16 June 2010 in the City of London.

For conference enquiries, please contact Angela Coleman.
angela.coleman@newsdeskmedia.com or call +44 (0) 20 7650 1600

For enquiries relating to the Kurdistan Regional Government only, contact Vian Rahman.
vian.rahman@krg.org or call +44 (0) 20 7170 4308

Media enquiries
Press and media who wish to attend the conference, please contact Stephanie Blott or
Beany McLean at krg@luther.co.uk or call +44 (0)20 7618 9100