KRG ministers vow to end oil reliance, embrace new tech at WEF summit
DEAD SEA, Jordan – Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ministers are in Jordan for the World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East and North Africa this weekend looking to drum up investment for the Region’s crisis-wracked economy.
Speaking to Rudaw on the fringes of the two-day forum, the KRG’s ministers of planning, finance, and reconstruction said the Region must diversify its economy away from oil and embrace the technologies of the future.
“What we saw today was that technology was a pioneer at the forum,” Darbaz Kosrat Rasul, reconstruction and housing minister, told Rudaw at the end of Saturday’s sessions
The delegation will return home with fresh ideas on how to “provide job opportunities through technology and it will help develop the governance system,” he said.
“We can make it our future program in the Kurdistan Regional Government,” Rasul added.
KRG ministers Darbaz Kosrat Rasul (L) and Rebaz Hamlan speak to Rudaw on the fringes of the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa 2019 taking place at Jordan's Dead Sea resort, April 6, 2019. Photo: Rudaw TV
Environmental degradation and climate change, peace and reconciliation, and youth unemployment are high on the agenda at this year’s annual summit, organized around the theme of ‘Building New Platforms of Cooperation’.
“The importance of taking part in such forums is that you will have the chance to meet dozens of giant companies, sign agreements with them, or give them more information about the Kurdistan Region,” KRG Finance Minister Rebaz Hamlan told Rudaw.
He said oil should no longer be the KRG’s sole source of revenue.
“We do not have to depend on oil all the time, but others such as tourism, agriculture, technology, and investment. Therefore, you will need to sustain a strong relationship with the region and Europe and bring in the outside hand and engage them in taking part and contributing to increase in revenues, economic development of Kurdistan,” he added.
The KRG has battled five years of financial crisis since Baghdad slashed its share of the federal budget, oil prices plummeted, and the costly war with the Islamic State (ISIS) sapped its resources.
“We will need consultation with experts at [such forums] and to bring them into the Kurdistan Region. We have a fertile soil and good resources for economic development,” Hamlan said, claiming several firms had already shown an interest in the Kurdistan Region’s banking sector.
“The most interesting aspect they were interested in was the banking system,” Hamlan said. “We will need to implement a new banking system in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.”
The regional WEF summit at Jordan’s Dead Sea resort ends Sunday.