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Kurdistan
A man lies on a grass-covered hill at MIA park overlooking the skyline of Doha, Qatar, April 19, 2019. File photo: Kamran Jebreili / AP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Gulf kingdom Qatar is ready to open a consulate in Erbil, Qatari Ambassador to Baghdad Khalid Hamad al-Sality told Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Sunday.
Qatar has been under a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) blockade since 2017, imposed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt, who accuse Doha of supporting terrorism, destabilizing its neighbors, and fostering ties with Saudi rival Iran.
Doha, which will host the 2022 football World Cup, has nevertheless maintained and improved its relations with Iraq and the semiautonomous Kurdistan Region, even discussing a free trade agreement with Baghdad earlier this year.
Qatar reopened its Baghdad embassy in 2015 for the first time since the Gulf War (1990-91) when several regional and world powers suspended diplomatic relations.
Its national carrier, Qatar Airways, began operating direct flights to Erbil and Baghdad in 2012.
The warming of relations with Qatar comes at a time when Doha’s Saudi rivals have also been making diplomatic overtures and offers of trade.
Iraq is keen to attract investment to rebuild its shattered infrastructure and diversify its sources of energy and largess away from its sanctions-hit ally Iran.
Sality, the current Qatari ambassador to Baghdad, informed Barzani on Sunday that “Qatar is aiming to open a consulate general in Erbil, capital city of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, soon,” but did not provide a timeframe.
Barzani received Sality on Sunday with a high profile business delegation.
Barzani said the Kurdistan Region is open to Qatari investment.
Sality also met on Sunday with Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and former president Masoud Barzani on Saturday.
The Qatari delegation is in the Kurdistan Region to participate in the 10th Project Iraq International Trade Exhibition for Building Materials, Construction Equipment and Environmental Technology.
The Project Iraq exhibition opens Monday.
The Region is slowly emerging from years of financial crisis, political deadlock, and a bitter war with the Islamic State (ISIS) which stalled infrastructure projects and squeezed businesses.
According to Department for Company Registration figures, there are 3,252 foreign firms registered in the entire Region. Some 2,371 of these are registered in the capital Erbil.
The Kurdistan Region is especially eager to cement its business ties with neighboring and regional states after a Baghdad-imposed air and diplomatic embargo following the Kurdistan independence referendum in late 2017 saw the Region isolated for several months.
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