Erbil – To simplify cultural and commercial and trade exchange between Iraqi Kurdistan and other countries, businessman Izzeddin K. Wadi created company Irem eight months ago, headquartered in Erbil, the regional capital. According to him and to the company’s international relations, Alain Sailler, Brazil has a good name in Iraq, mainly due to football. "It would be very interesting to bring Brazilian players here, for example," said Wadi.
In these eight months, Irem has already managed to bring a team of doctors from Turkey to Kurdistan for promotion of check-ups and surgeries for the local population. According to Sailler, the arrival of Turkish doctors in the region has become more common since the company managed to establish the partnership with Turkey.
One of the main problems of the region, which hinders the development of trade and cultural relations with other countries, is the Kurdish language, spoken by the entire population. For this reason, Wadi and Sailler believe that partnerships with other countries for promotion of sports, medicine, civil construction and tourism may cause relations to advance. "We seek experienced companies in several areas to bring to Kurdistan," said Sailler.
The Irem idea is to put companies in direct contact both with the private sector and with the government of the region for participation in projects for development of the country, like the building of low-income housing, for example. "Our objective is to build a bridge between the foreign company and Kurdistan," said Sailler.
Development
In recent years, Kurdistan has been growing economically and has attracted companies from several sectors, like building material, decoration and processed foods, coming mainly from countries like Turkey, Iran and the Arab nations.
One example of the growing foreign interest in the region may be seen in Erbil International Fair, which attracted 850 companies from 30 countries on all continents, including Brazil, which is showing hospital equipment and bedroom furniture.
But it is not just international companies that are winning more and more space. The Iraqi Kurdish Asiacell, in telecommunications, has already got 10 million subscribers in the country. The company, which employs over 5,000 people, is the largest in Iraq.
According to the organisation’s sales representative, Miran Abdulqadir, Asiacell has established several partnerships with international companies to provide roaming services in other countries, including Brazil. Using mobile phones with Asiacell chips, users may send SMSs and photographs all over the world. The company has three kinds of chips for post-paid and pre-paid mobile phones, which may be used in any country, according to Abdulqadir.
*Translated by Mark Ament
