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The reception coincided with a visit by a delegation of business leaders from the Kurdistan Region in Iraq, who are visiting London, Edinburgh and Belfast this week, to promote friendship through commerce and to build stronger cultural and trade ties with the British devolved nations.
Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, the head of KRG’s Foreign Relations, and Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, the KRG’s High Representative to the UK, welcomed the guests who included the Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change Charles Hendry, Rt Hon Ann Clwyd MP, Meg Munn MP, Lord Clement-Jones, Baroness Nicholson, Robert Halfon MP, Lord Denis Rogan, Robert Walter MP and others. The reception was also hosted by Mr Dave Anderson MP, Secretary of the Kurdistan Region All Party Parliamentary Group and Chairman of Labour Friends of Iraq.
Ms Abdul Rahman told guests, ”I am pleased to say that after a slow start, Britain is beginning to make its mark in Kurdistan’s business landscape. Britain now leads Europe and America in the number of companies with a presence in Kurdistan – a lead that I hope Britain will maintain.” She also said, “By strengthening our commercial ties, both sides can serve their people by creating jobs and increasing prosperity.”
Ms Abdul Rahman also spoke about Kurdistan’s democratic progress and referred to Sir John Major’s recent address to the Kurdistan Parliament in which he said Kurdistan and Iraq could set the example for their near neighbours in the Middle East in their ongoing revolutions. Ms Abdul Rahman added: “We have achieved much in Kurdistan, and we have further to go – in strengthening our institutions, enhancing our democratic practices and doing more to promote women’s rights. We have made strides in all these areas and I’m delighted to report that our parliament has just passed a law against domestic violence and FGM.”
The annual reception, held inside the British parliament, also welcomed diplomats, representatives of Scotland and Northern Ireland, companies and universities, the UK’s Kurdish and Iraqi community, and friends who are involved in cultural, educational and commercial exchange with the Kurdistan Region in Iraq.
Minister Bakir, said in his speech, “I wanted to be here today especially to thank all our friends in Britain, old and new, for the hard work and support given to us over the years, and in particular to thank the British government for the recent upgrade of the British office in Erbil to a full consulate general, which will strengthen political, economic and cultural ties between the Region and the UK. There is still a lot we can do together, for the people of our region and the rest of Iraq, who all deserve better future.”
Nadhim Zahawi MP, Co-Chair of the All Party Group on the Kurdistan Region, which visited Kurdistan twice this year, also spoke at the reception, saying, “On our last visit to Kurdistan we were able to see not just the great progress that Kurdistan has made, but in our meetings with parliamentarians and the different groups in parliament, we were able to discuss openly the many challenges they are facing at the moment and how we can learn from each other in overcoming the challenges and doing better politics.”
The business delegation this week also participated in a Kurdistan trade, investment and business forum in London. The forum was an opportunity for the Kurdish business leaders to meet British firms and explain how business is done in Kurdistan, and for the British companies to be updated about the investment opportunities in the region, including energy, tourism and infrastructure. The visit was organised by the KRG UK Representation.
In an earlier meeting of the delegation with Meg Munn MP, chair of the All Party Group, Ms Munn said, “It is obvious to us as members of the APPG that Kurdistan and Britain should have more trade. We have been giving that a big priority; we have regularly lobbied ministers and talked about it in parliament. People are really starting to understand. I have been to Kurdistan three times in 18 months. What a transformation Kurdistan has gone through just in that time.”
