Iraq’s Kurdistan is one of the most promising regions for investors
Officials speaking during the 2013 TradeUAE Iraq trade visit in Erbil, Kurdistan Region. Iraq is the second largest re-export market to the UAE.
Image Credit: Courtesy: United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Trade.
Erbil (IraqiNews.com) Go invest in the Kurdistan region of Iraq because it’s one of the most promising areas in the Middle East. That was the view expressed following a visit to the region by a 100-strong trade delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The two-day trade visit – held in Erbil and dubbed “TradeUAE-Iraq” – was hosted and sponsored by Dana Gas, the Middle East’s first regional private-sector natural gas company, and Crescent Petroleum, the oldest private oil and gas company in the Middle East. Together, both companies have already invested more than US$1 billion in Kurdistan.
H.E. Abdullah Saleh, under secretary at the UAE Ministry of Economy, led the official UAE delegation which included Rashid Al-Jarwan, executive director and acting CEO of Dana Gas, and Majid Jafar, CEO of Crescent Petroleum.
During the visit, high-level meetings were held with Kurdistan Regional Government officials, the Governor of Erbil, and other senior figures.
TradeUAE-Iraq, the first event of its kind, included a conference at the Saad Conference Centre in Erbil, networking events, business meetings between companies from the UAE and Iraq, and site visits to local industrial projects.
In a statement released to Iraqi News, Mr Jafar said, “The Kurdistan region of Iraq is one of the most promising areas in the Middle East region for investment. As the largest investors in the oil and gas sector and among the first UAE companies to invest in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, we are pleased to play this positive role in encouraging further strong economic ties and investments from the UAE.”
Mr Al-Jarwan said, “We are proud to be sponsors and participants in this important trade visit, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Economy and other organizations. Events like this to promote economic and trade ties are extremely beneficial in creating new business opportunities for the private sector as well as enhancing bonds of friendship between countries.”
As the visit highlights, international trade is increasingly seen as an important plank of the UAE economy going forward. Within the country itself, more companies than ever before are producing consumer goods for export overseas. Extensive export services in the UAE offered by banks and other financial institutions have helped make much of this possible.
However, there is also a long-standing philanthropic element to the UAE’s growing influence abroad, as evidenced by the recent opening of the Shaikh Zayed Solar Power Plant in the West African state of Mauritania. The 15-megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant, which cost US$32 million to build, is the largest project of its kind on the African continent.
Renewable energy company Masdar, which is based in the UAE emirate of Abu Dhabi, delivered the facility located near to Mauritania’s capital Nouakchott. The PV plant will supply about 10% of the country’s energy capacity and displace an estimated 21,225 tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Mauritania’s electricity grid, mostly powered by expensive diesel generators, currently has an installed capacity of only 144 megawatts, resulting in severe energy shortages. With energy demand increasing by 12% annually, the addition of solar power will help meet future electricity shortfalls and supply the energy demand of approximately 10,000 homes.
Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, said, “For more than 40 years, the UAE has remained steadfast in its commitment to helping developing countries achieve their economic potential. Today, as the UAE and Masdar help countries realize their ambitions of developing critical energy infrastructure, we are finding important new ways to assist the global community in achieving sustainable development.”
Click here for more on Dana Gas.