Pathfinder Trade & Invest (PTi) with the support of the Kurdistan Regional Government and UKTI, invite you to join a High Level Trade Mission from the 17th– 21st June to Erbil.

This Mission will be of interest to those companies in the following sectors: Financial services and Insurance, Education and Training, Construction and Construction Supplies, Infrastructure development, Healthcare, Energy and Oil, IT and Telecoms, Agriculture. Iraqi Kurdistan has for many years remained peaceful and is now rapidly becoming a major destination for British Exports as well as a major gateway for traders serving the whole of Iraq.

The Mission has been timed to coincide with the Iraq Finance & Investment Conference, which will be an excellent opportunity to meet with important businessmen. The mission has the full support of UKTI and our British Embassy Consulate in Erbil with whom a commercial briefing will be arranged. Match making roundtables with leading local Businessmen and the Chamber of Commerce are also to be held.

The Kurdistan re-birth as a prosperous, democratic and economic area is a triumph of the determination of its peoples. Kurdistan has been one of the clear success stories of Iraq and the opportunities are just beginning, aided by the stable security situation.

The two day Financial Services Conference at the Saad Palace Conference Center, Erbil – see www.ifi2012.com – will bring together for the first time in Erbil, heads of Iraqi Financial, Investment and Insurance Institutions and business owners, with the international and regional industry experts and stakeholders. There will also be business to business and business to Government networking opportunities both at the Conference and with the local Chambers of Commerce.

Leading the Mission will be Michael Thomas, CEO – PTi who has travelled extensively throughout the area and pioneered the first trade mission to the region six years ago and has since successfully headed up both trade and bespoke Missions to Kurdistan.

For further information and to receive a prospectus containing full details of the Mission, the draft programme and costs, please contact PTi’s Mission Managers via: pathfinder@ctgrouptravel.co.uk

Pathfinder Trade & Invest (PTi) invite you to attend a Kurdistan Business Seminar kindly sponsored by DLA Piper UK LLP at their offices situated at 3 Noble Street, London EC2V 7EE, on 28th May 2012 from 10.00 am to 12.30 pm.

Whilst many events in the Middle East have cast a shadow over the region, Iraqi Kurdistan is proving to be a remarkable success story with great ambitions for the future. There are clearly excellent opportunities for British businesses in all sectors, but particularly Construction and infrastructure, oil and gas, financial services and education and training. Iraqi Kurdistan has for many years remained peaceful and is now rapidly becoming a major destination for British Exports as well as a major gateway for traders serving the whole of Iraq.

Opening addresses will be given by Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman,The High Representative, Kurdistan Regional Government, Lord Clement-Jones CBE, London Managing Partner, DLA Piper UK LLP, and Michael Thomas, CEO – Pathfinder Trade and Invest Ltd, who has just returned from Iraqi Kurdistan. This will be followed by a panel of leading businessmen/women, representing key industry sectors and currently operating in Iraqi Kurdistan.

They will discuss opportunities for doing business in the Kurdistan region and delegates will have ample opportunity for questions, as well as to meet with senior representatives of the Kurdistan regional Government.

Registration and programme details are available from:

carol@pathfindertradeandinvest.com

A registration fee of £45.00 +VAT (£54.00) is payable to cover administration and marketing.

A large delegation of US Congressional staff visited the Kurdistan Region last week to meet with government officials, local businesses and schools, and to get a first hand view of how US-KRG relations can be further developed and improved.

“This was the first Congressional staff delegation of its kind and size to the Kurdistan Region,” said a member of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representation office in the US. “The delegation visited all three Kurdistan provinces, gaining a thorough understanding of theregion and how the US business community is a true partner in its development.”

Commenting on the delegation’s visit to the Region, the Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations Minister Falah Mustafa said, “The political, institutional and developmental success of Kurdistan is a shining example of what can be achieved through the pursuit of our shared values with the United States. We have a long history with the US, and we believe that greater commercial, cultural and educational exchange between us is long overdue.”

While in Erbil the Congressional staff met with local representatives of the newly established United States-Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) in order to both hear and see first-hand how US investment is at work in Kurdistan.

The delegation received an insightful briefing from US Consul General Alex Laskaris during the visit, and spent an afternoon at the campus of the American University of Iraq – Suleimani (AUIS), holding informative talks with both the students and faculty there. The group also had good exchanges with Christian leaders based in Kurdistan during their stay.

The bipartisan delegation included senior staff of ten Congressional offices, from both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The delegation was also received by KRG ministers and officials including: President Barzani’s Chief of Staff Dr Fuad Hussein; Minister Falah Mustafa; Minister of Education Dr Asmat Khalid, and Chairman of the Investment Board, Minister Herish Muharam.

(Source: KRG)

This week the United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will reach a significant milestone in its efforts to support Iraqi businesses. Loans extended by Iraqi Company for Financing Small and Medium Enterprises (ICF-SME) to develop or expand small businesses will reach a total of $26 million or ID 30.18 billion. These loans to small and medium-sized businesses have created over 1,200 new jobs for Iraqis.

Founded in May 2009 with an initial $6 million grant from the USAID-Tijara Provincial Economic Growth Program, the ICF-SME program is designed to help expand Iraq’s private sector, as called for in the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework agreement. Funds that borrowers repay to the banks are, in turn, used to grant new loans. This cycle of repayment and new lending, plus additional money contributed by the banks has allowed $7 million of USAID grants to produce 1,374 loans averaging $19,000 in size for a total sum of loans exceeding $26 million.

“Iraqi businesses need enormous amounts of money to allow them to buy new equipment and expand, and will someday begin to compete on an international level,” said Managing Director Wisam Noori. “ICF-SME helps finance these purchases through bank loans made increasingly from loans that have been paid back.” Banks appreciate the lending program because it is stable, long-term, and can be obtained by eligible Iraqis at a low fixed rate of 10 percent, a rate substantially below prevailing market interest of 12-14 percent.

The nine private Iraqi commercial banks participating in the ICF-SME program are Gulf Commercial Bank, Sumer Commercial Bank, Ashur International Bank, North Bank, Iraqi Middle East Bank for Investment, Baghdad Bank, National Bank of Iraq, Mosul Bank for Investment and Development, and Basra International Bank for Investment.

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Iran Daily reports that trade between Iraq and Iran is expecte be between $12 billion and $15 billion in the current Iranian year (started March 20), up from $9.7 billion last year.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast described trade ties with Iraq as ‘ever increasing’, saying there are ‘abundant capacities’ for cooperation between the two countries.

In April, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki that there was no barrier to the development of political, economic and cultural relations between Iran and its western neighbour.

Ahmadinejad said Iran and Iraq should use all capacities to develop bilateral relations, solve regional issues in favor of their nations, and establish peace and justice.

Last week Iran announced the building of a $450 billion gas pipeline to Iraq.

(Source: Iran Daily)

President Masoud Barzani this week paid an official visit to the United Arab Emirates to strengthen political, economic, cultural and investment ties between the Emirates and the Kurdistan Region.

The President had meetings with the Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE and constitutional monarch of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al-Maktoum, and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed Al-Maktoum reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to a stable and prosperous Iraq in which all its people can live together peacefully.

President Barzani expressed his admiration for the rapid economic development and progress that the UAE has witnessed and said that the Kurdistan Region can learn much from their experience. He described his visit as the start of a turning point in their relations, and said that Kurdistan is keen to increase economic cooperation with the UAE.

Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said to President Barzani that both sides would benefit from greater cooperation.

Both UAE leaders commended the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its leadership for their achievements and the positive role they play in Iraq.

President Barzani visited Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted renewable energy company, on Tuesday to receive a brief on the UAE’s efforts in developing renewable energy solutions and clean technology.

He also met with the UAE’s Chambers of Commerce to discuss business and investment opportunities in the Kurdistan Region.

The President and his accompanying delegation attended a number of other meetings with UAE leaders, focusing on further strengthening ties in areas including agriculture, tourism and industry.

During the three day visit, the President was accompanied by the KRG Deputy Prime Minister, Imad Ahmad, the KRG Minister of Planning, Ali Sindi, the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, Falah Mustafa and the Head of the Board of Investment, Herish Muharam along with several KRG advisers.

By Michael Aron, Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Iraq. This article was originally published by Rudaw, and is re-published with permission by Iraq Business News.

Rather than the usual one or two day visit to Erbil, I have just spent a week in Kurdistan Region travelling to Suleymaniya, Dohuk, Soran and Shanidar. What a country; a land blessed with breathtaking mountain views, hydrocarbons, fertile plains, fast-flowing rivers, a deep and remarkable history and, more important than all of that, a resourceful, determined and tolerant people thirsting for international exchanges. All around me as I travelled and spoke to people I heard about change, progress and optimism for the future.

Iraq over the last few decades has been broadly inward looking; Kurdistan which has had more than its fair share of isolation is now determinedly outward looking. That is the mark of a confident society and body politic and surely in this globalised world a necessary ingredient for sustainable growth. It was good to see Iraq generally more confident and outward looking following the successful Arab League Summit in Baghdad.

I heard this confidence in a series of discussions Chris, our Consul General in Erbil and I had with students in Suleymaniya, Dohuk and Soran. Judging by the students we met, Kurdistan Region will have a vibrant and dynamic future. And so, I am thrilled that UK seems to be Kurds’ partner of choice for higher education. I was able to open the new centre for language and academic development in Soran. The centre is jointly run with University College, Plymouth. Soran and Plymouth had their first discussions in June 2011. Only ten months later the centre was opened. That shows the ambition and energy of Soran and the responsiveness of UK higher education.

It looks as if Bristol University’s groundbreaking collaboration with Suleymaniya on researching and reducing gender based violence will continue for another three years. Kurdish society is at its best and bravest when it tackles head-on such difficult issues.