President Barzani visits Doha on official visit
“During his visit, the President will hold meetings with His Excellency Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar, and a number of Qatari officials,” read a statement from the Presidency’s office.
“At the meetings, the President will discuss a wide range of issues, including ways to further develop bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region and Qatar, Iraq’s relations with Qatar in many areas including diplomacy, partnership on commerce and industry, and investment opportunities for Qatari businesses in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq. Discussions will also focus on the developments in Iraq and the wider region,” the statement added.
Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani arrives at Doha and is received by Qatar’s Minister of Transport and Communications and Iraq’s Ambassador to Qatar.
Iraq’s ambassador to Qatar told Rudaw’s Rozhan Abubakir last week that Qatar sees Baghdad and Erbil of equal importance.
“This visit is very important and shows the development in relations between Qatar and Kurdistan Region,” Omar Al-Barzanji, Iraq’s ambassador to Qatar, said.
“Qatar is waiting for real opportunity to invest in the Kurdistan Region, these have certain requirements as many businessmen ask for bank insurance in the Kurdistan Region,” he said, “and I hope that the Kurdistan Region thinks of this so it does not become an obstacle.”
Al-Barzanji said that there are several great opportunities in Kurdistan Region for Qatar to invest in that will elevate ties between both sides.
Qatar has strengthened relations with the Kurdistan Region over the past few years. In a meeting with the Qatari ambassador to Iraq in September, Barzani discussed bolstering trade and investment ties with the country.
In March, Barzani received Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani in Erbil, and Barzani “underlined that the peace and stability and the investment laws in the Kurdistan Region support the private sector and Qatari investments in the Region and Iraq,” according to a statement.
At the time, the Qatari foreign minister had extended a formal invitation to Barzani to visit Doha and announced Qatar will open a consulate in Erbil, a move welcomed by Barzani as “a further step to strengthen ties between Kurdistan Region and Qatar.”
Qatar first expressed an interest in opening a consulate in the Kurdistan Region in 2019 during a visit to Erbil by the Qatari ambassador to Baghdad and a high profile business delegation.