ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Hundreds of factories in the Kurdistan Region have closed in recent years because of regulatory differences between Erbil and Baghdad, throwing thousands of people out of work. More jobs are at risk if the issue is not resolved, a member of the Iraqi parliament told Rudaw on Saturday.
The Iraqi government has ordered that all factories in the Kurdistan Region must obtain an operating license from the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals. Without this license, products made in Kurdistan cannot be sold in the rest of the country.
“Now the factories in the Kurdistan Region have dozens of problems and [bureaucratic] routines and if they go to Baghdad, thousands of other routines and problems will be made for them,” said MP Sarwa Mohammed.
However, there is a proposal on the table that could simplify the process and potentially save factories from closing.
“Erbil and Baghdad have prepared a memorandum on the work of factories in the Kurdistan Region. If the agreement is not signed, we will have to wait for the closure of hundreds of other factories,” said Mohammed.
Hundreds of businesses have already gone out of business.
“The closure of 873 factories in the past five years in Sulaimani, Garmian, and Raparin has left more than 100,000 people unemployed,” Aram Baban, a member of the executive council of the Sulaimani Chamber of Commerce, told Rudaw on Saturday.
The proposed memorandum states that Baghdad should confirm that the factories registered in the Kurdistan Region exist and inspect their products.
“Thousands of workers have gone home from factories and become unemployed because of [new government] rules. Unfortunately, if the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad do not agree, we must expect hundreds of other factories to be closed,” said Mohammed, adding that one of the points in the memorandum is to give a temporary license to factories in the Kurdistan Region until the agreement with Baghdad is signed.
If both sides agree, a special committee will visit the Kurdistan Region to conduct inspections.
