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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — There are over 35 French companies working in the Kurdistan Region, the head of the French consulate’s economics department has told Rudaw.
“There are more than 35 French companies functioning in the Kurdistan Region, some are large scale businesses and others are small,” Muhammed Fazyi, the head of the economics department at the French consulate in Erbil told Rudaw’s Bakhtiar Abdulaziz on Tuesday.
“According to the data we have, France currently has more than $3 billion worth of investments in Iraq, 30-35 percent of which is in the Kurdistan Region,” added Fayzi.
The relationship between the Kurds and France has been strong in recent years. France played a critical role in the war against Islamic State (ISIS).
Even after the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum in 2017, when many global powers distanced themselves from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), France kept ties with the Kurds.
After the war against ISIS broke out, many western companies started retreating from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, but French companies stayed. According to Fayzi, “France’s relationship with the Kurdistan Region is not temporary but very long term.”
At a press conference with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Erbil in July 2020, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani thanked France and President Emmanuel Macron for the unwavering support they have provided the Kurdistan Region, especially during the war against ISIS, and tense moments between the governments in Erbil and Baghdad.
Several large French companies function in the Kurdistan Region such as Lafarge, Total, and Carrefour.
Total owns an 18 percent stake in the Kurdistan Region's Sarsang oil exploration block.
France plans to increase agricultural exports to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, Fayzi added.
President Barzani arrived in Paris on Monday upon an official invite from Macron.
The two presidents will meet at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday, according to a statement from Barzani’s office.
They are set to discuss a wide range of topics, including the relationship between the Kurdistan Region and France, Iraq and the situation of the broader region, COVID-19, terrorism threats and the global coalition's contribution to the war against Islamic State (ISIS).
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