MESOP : INTERNATIONAL FUND RAISING FOR KRG

Kurdistan Markets currently facing economic crisis / KRG to Ask for International Loan to Survive Economic Crisis

20.10.2014 – Mewan Dolamari – BasNews, Erbil – On Sunday the Kurdistan Region Ministers’ Council held a meeting in Erbil where it was decided to ask for international loans for the region.

According to a statement released by the council, the ministers discussed the participation of Kurds in the new government of Iraq and the situation in Kobani, Syrian Kurdistan among other items on a busy agenda. Asked about the situation in Kobani, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani stated in the meeting that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will continue to do its best to help the city. “Unfortunately the location of the city hinders us in doing many things for them. However, we are in contact with Turkey and the US, discussing plans to send aid to Kobani. The talks have so far been positive,” said Barzani.

According to the statement, also high on the agenda was a decision on a draft law for the Kurdistan Region to ask for international loans. The KRG has consulted with other international organizations and countries on the legality of the region applying for loans. The statement claims to have come to the conclusion that the Kurdistan Region has a right to apply and will do so. Since the beginning of 2014, the Kurdistan Region’s budget has been blocked by the former federal government of Iraq in which Nouri al-Maliki was PM. Since then the Kurdistan Region has faced an economic crisis that has caused many business projects in the region to be halted and has affected the day to day life of citizens in the Kurdistan Region