Erbil, Kurdistan Region – Iraq (krg.org)
– Representatives of 50 German
companies and Germany ’s Ambassador
to Iraq yesterday concluded a trade
mission to the Kurdistan Region.
The largest business delegation to
visit the Region so far met with
Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and
other Kurdistan Regional Government
officials, and attended the annual
Erbil International Fair.
Mr Christof Weil, Germany ’s
Ambassador to Iraq, joined the
business delegation in Erbil and
hosted a reception for his
countrymen to meet Kurdistan
Regional Government (KRG) ministers
and leading members of Kurdistan ’s
business community.
In his speech at the reception,
Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani
said, “The Kurdistan Region has
developed a secure and politically
stable environment which is ready
for foreign investment. It is
important for business delegations
to visit our region to see for
themselves the opportunities we have
to offer.” He added, “The German
people have always been friends to
Kurdistan’s people and we look
forward to building relations and
interactions between Germany and the
Kurdistan Region as well as all Iraq
.”
The Ambassador thanked the German
business delegation for coming to
Iraq and complimented the KRG on the
Region’s progress. He said, “It is
wonderful to witness great
development throughout the Kurdistan
Region. The stability has made such
development possible, and it is this
stability which has signalled to our
Embassy in Baghdad and leaders in
Berlin that it is time to open a
full consulate in Erbil .”
Last summer Germany decided to
establish a consulate in the
Kurdistan Region and is hoping to
have one open and operating by early
2009. Germany first came to the
Kurdistan Region with an Honorary
Consul, and now operates an Embassy
Office headed by First Secretary Mr
Cornelius Huppertz.
Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, the
KRG’s Head of Foreign Relations,
said of Germany ’s decision to
increase its diplomatic presence,
“We see this as a very positive sign
as we forge ahead to build better
relations with our friends and
neighbours. In line with the Prime
Minister's efforts, the Kurdistan
Region has become the gateway to the
rest of Iraq and offers many
opportunities for businesses and
countries to establish themselves.”
Germany follows many other countries
in sending business delegations to
witness the economic boom in the
Kurdistan Region. The 50 businessmen
and women were brought together by
Germany 's Federal Ministry of
Economics and Technology and the
German Near and Middle East
Association.
Erbil, Kurdistan – Iraq (KRG.org)
The Interior Ministry of the
Kurdistan Regional Government has
honoured a fallen American soldier
at the opening of a police college
in Erbil.
At a ceremony led by Mr Karim
Sinjari, the Minister of State for
the Interior, a statue of First
Lieutenant Ashley Henderson of the
385th MP Battalion, Fort Stewart ,
Georgia , was unveiled last week.
Lieutenant Henderson’s father Mr
Mark Henderson attended the ceremony,
alongside US Major General Jerry
Cannon, Commander of the Civilian
Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT),
Brigadier General James Boozer,
Assistant Division Commander for the
Multinational Division-North,
Colonel Margaret Burcham, Commander
for the Gulf Region Division-North
of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Several senior officials from the
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)
and federal Iraqi government also
attended the ceremony.
Lieutenant Henderson had worked on
behalf of the Coalition Forces with
the Interior Ministry in Erbil and
been a strong advocate of the
building of a new police academy,
providing space for administration,
accommodation and training of cadets,
with the financial assistance of the
US government.
Lieutenant Henderson was killed in
Mosul, outside the Kurdistan Region,
in 2006, but her work helped set the
project in motion and it became a
joint effort by the US government
and the KRG.
Minister Sinjari said, “First
Lieutenant Ashley Henderson was a
woman of courage and determination.
We are honoured to have worked with
her. Her family and colleagues
should be proud of what she did for
her country and for the people of
Iraq in the liberation of our
country. Her statue will act not
only as a remembrance of her but
will also inspire our police cadets
to live up to her standards of
commitment and professionalism.”
The new academy will have
accommodation and facilities for up
to 650 people. At the ceremony,
police cadets marched carrying the
Iraqi and Kurdistan flags and
demonstrated some of their martial
arts skills. Major General Connor
and Minister Sinjari, as well as
other dignitaries, spoke of the hard
work that had gone into the project
and that it symbolised the
cooperation and friendship between
Kurds and Americans.
