Egypt was the first Arab country to open a general consulate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Jordan, Palestine, and the UAE then followed suit, and Lebanon is currently in the process of doing so. There are a total of 27 foreign consulates and representative offices in the region.
Salman Osman, Egypt's consul general in Erbil, noted:
"The diplomatic presence in the region has a positive and significant effect on the development of economic relations.
"Before opening the consulate, [Egypt's] level of trade with the region was virtually nonexistent and amounted to only about $50,000 per year. However, after [Egypt] opened a consulate and trade office in the region, there was a significant jump in trade, reaching $23 million in 2011 and $50 million in 2012. This came as the result of visits by commercial and economic delegations on both sides."
Osman also observed, "These relations are not limited to trade alone, today we are talking about investment." He announced that the Egyptian minister of tourism, Hisham Zazou, plans to visit the Kurdistan region of Iraq this month. Osman stated, "We are waiting to sign an executive agreement between the Kurdistan region of Iraq and Egypt that deals with supporting and promoting tourism from Egypt to Kurdistan and vice versa. It will also include the establishment of investment projects in the tourism sector, especially after Erbil was chosen as the Arab Capital of Tourism for 2014," said Osman.
Abdel Hamid Zebari is a contributing writer for Al-Monitor’s Iraq Pulse. A reporter from Erbil who works in the field of print journalism and radio, he has published several reports in local and world media, including Agence France-Press and Radio Free Iraq (Radio Free Europe).
So who said that KRG and kurds do not like arabs? From investment to cultural events, books etc
Why do not like other arab countries Baghdad as much? OOh, the same old story or security, foresee changes of tules of engagement (no black lists) and modern or contemporary investment laws.
Obviously those arabs are thinking 180 degrees differently from our arabs in Baghdad. Why is it so? This time I will not mention corruption nor nepotism (which exist in Kurdistan but obviously not as much as to prevail from investing there)
RT @iraqbiznews: Iraqi Kurdistan Open To Arab Investment: By Abdel Hamid Zebari for Al-Monitor. Any opinions ex... http://t.co/XjHzIZwHlD
“This includes 98 Emirati companies, 97 Lebanese companies, and 12 Egyptian companies, as well companies from Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states."
The KRG’s Ministry of Trade and Industry obvious open trade policy and their OTHER big trade partners also include Turkey, Iran, many Western, Asian countries as well as the state of ISRAEL…
One would also conclude the KRG is breaking and challenging the international sanction on Iran by allowing Iranian products to enter the KRG, Iraq and the rest of the Arab world (note how they blame the Iraqi government for being an extension arm to the Safavid Persian dynasty, while it is OK for the Kurds to deal with Iranian and Israeli companies)
By the same token, Israeli products are also being imported and spread throughout the Arab markets by means of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq
We can see how this would bring immense profits to echelon Kurdish merchants and to their international investors, partners and what have you, but it is also a classic example for a future disaster!!
This international trade also brings crime, espionage, corruption, greed and ultimately breach of security and chaos to KRG, Iraq and to the rest of the Arab world
Iraqis can appreciate Lebanese and Emirati (classy) companies but why partner with Egyptian (fundamentalist Islamic Brotherhood), Saudi (Wahhabi Royal family), Kuwaiti (traditional Iraqi haters), Iranian (Safavid Empire), Turkish (Neo Ottomans) and Israeli (apartheid Zionist state)…
Saddam also partnered with Sadat’s Egypt and brought more than one million Egyptian workers to Iraq in the 70s and 80s and we ALL (Iraqis) clearly remember what this Arab rudeness did to Iraq, Iraqis and to the Iraqi culture!
Do you see how this problem is being brewed in the KRG and how it will negatively affect the rest of Iraq and the entire Middle East in general??
What I see is trade and more trade and even more business to the benefit of the Iraqui society.
What is wrong with Israel goods? Is it better with godless products from China? What is wrong by allowing Iranian goods to be exported to Iraq?
Iraq produces nothing and consumes everything. There is limited resources or money and what is wrong by buying the best price/performance of the market?
I think that Iraq could look at some countries like Singapore and Hong Kong as role models for a free trade society and compare their wealth with the links to free trade.
Remember that any Iraqui consumer has 100% power to not buy goods or buy goods from anywhere he likes it. The Iraqui consumer do not need a big brother for such decisions. They are factually grown up's and can make own decisions.
I respect those decisions