GERMAN MINISTER RAMSAUER : WE WILL BE PERMANENTLY IN KURDISTAN

SHAME ON KDP & PUK : NOT A SINGLE WORD ABOUT THE GERMAN DELIVERY OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS TO KILL HALABJA! – (MESOP)

11/02/2013 RUDAW –  By WLADIMIR van WILGENBURG – ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Germany wants a long-term economic relationship with Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Region and will not be deterred by bureaucratic hurdles, German transport minister Peter Ramsauer said on a visit to Erbil last week.

“In the German conscience there is not something as making short-term profits. We will be here permanently,” said Ramsauer, the Minister for Transport, Building and Urban Development, who led a trade delegation of 50 companies on a two-day visit.

The minister, who also participated in the first German-Kurdistan Region economic forum. also said that German companies would not fear bureaucratic hurdles. “We won’t be discouraged by this.”

Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani told Ramsauer that the Kurdistan Region was fully behind the German effort. “We welcome German companies to the Kurdistan Region. They can play a crucial role in the process of developing our region and we assure the German companies of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG’s) full support and assistance,” Barzani said. Ramsauer who arrived from Baghdad, was received in Erbil by the KRG Minister of Housing and Reconstruction Kamaran Ahmed Abdullah and the German Consul General Rolf Ulrich.

“Our society trusts German products. Of course. we also want to cooperate, Abdullah said.

Oliver Wolff, general manager of the German Association of Transport Companies told Rudaw that, “I think it was very interesting to see the difference between Baghdad and the north of Iraq. In Erbil, everything looks very professional and they are trying hard to develop the country.” “Everything is organized, on time, professionally organized,” he said.  “It’s not only opportunities, but also hard work,” he noted. The Kurdistan Region, energy-rich and developing rapidly, currently imports most goods from neighboring countries, but wants more quality products from the West.  It also desperately needs foreign companies to invest, rather than just try to sell goods.The KRG wants to stimulate private investment to create jobs.  Barzani said in December that, “The government cannot employ everybody in the future.” He noted that 70 percent of the budget goes to paying wages and salaries.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/5728.html