“We work very closely with the Government of Iraq to create the right environment for not just our oil companies, but for our companies across sectors to be able to contribute to Iraq's growth trajectory,” Arun Venkataraman, the US assistant secretary of commerce for global markets told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda during a press conference.
“From where we sit, we address a number of barriers, a number of challenges to doing business in Iraq. We've worked very closely with the government to identify those sectors where we think there's potential for American companies to invest,” he added.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani led a delegation, including several Iraqi companies, to Washington in April in his first trip to the US as Iraq’s premier. He presided over the signing of 19 MoUs with American companies in various fields, including energy, gas capture, and healthcare.
Venkataraman noted that Washington will continue working with Baghdad to create successful business environment in Iraq.
Steve Lutes, vice president of Middle East Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce told Rudaw in April that Sudani’s visit demonstrated Iraq’s desire for broader ties with the US and that the US government and private sector are also keen on looking for further business opportunities in Iraq.
“As part of the prime minister’s visit, there was a clear message that the relationship between Iraq and the United States needs to be broad and it needs to focus in areas such as the commercial trade and investment relationship,” he said.
Venkataraman’s remarks also come as International Oil Companies (IOCs), as well as American companies, have suffered losses due to the halt on the Kurdistan Region’s oil exports.
Oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline have been halted since March 23, 2023 after a Paris-based arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, saying the latter had breached a 1973 agreement by allowing Erbil to begin independent oil exports in 2014.
The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) claimed in October 2023 that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) owes their members companies nearly $1 billion in overdue and unpaid arrears.
Despite numerous meetings between Erbil, Baghdad and Ankara, the oil exports have yet to resume. Iraq’s oil ministry has blamed the IOCs for Erbil and Baghdad’s failure to reach an agreement.
