ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A delegation of more than 30 United States companies, certified by the US Chamber of Commerce, participated in an investment conference in Erbil on Monday to discuss investment opportunities across a wide range of sectors in the Kurdistan Region.
This is “the largest delegation to date,” to have visited the Kurdistan Region and had the endorsement of the US Department of Commerce, Steve Lutes, director of the US Chamber of Commerce’s Middle East Affairs division, told Rudaw.
“There has always been a lot of cooperation in the energy sector,” Lutes said, adding the companies represent industries across the entire range of energy, healthcare, food and agriculture, manufacturing, and technology.
“We have companies from healthcare, we have companies from varieties of different technologies, food and agriculture, manufacturing, and we think the potential to grow the relationship is there and that's what this delegation is all about,” Lutes explained..
The US official hoped they would see “more companies using this as a springboard to come and do business in the Region,” adding the visiting delegation aims to have conversations, to learn what the projects are and “what are those commercial opportunities and investments.”
The United States currently ranks 6th among countries with the highest number of companies in the Kurdistan Region, according to data Rudaw has obtained from relevant authorities in Erbil.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative to the United States Trifa Aziz who was also at the event said the size and diversity of the delegation reflects strong interest from American businesses.
The initiative followed Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s trip to Washington in May, where he encouraged US officials to bring a delegation “that reflects the entire economy,” Lutes said in an earlier interview with Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda.
In Washington, Barzani oversaw the signing of two major energy agreements with US-based companies HKN Energy and WesternZagros, valued at a combined $110 billion over their lifespan. Baghdad has rejected the deals as illegal, with the Iraqi oil ministry insisting that all energy partnerships must go through the federal government.
Washington and Erbil enjoy close ties. The US has been a key supporter of the Kurdistan Region since it gained autonomy in the 1990s, backing the development of the Kurdish Peshmerga, leading the global coalition against ISIS, and supporting ongoing reform efforts. The US is also preparing to open a new consulate general in Erbil, set to be the largest in the world.
The visit of the US business delegation comes five months after the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce signed an agreement in Baghdad to enhance private sector cooperation between their countries, at a critical time when Iraq was seeking to mitigate the impact of Washington’s tariffs increase on a wide range of its goods.
