Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani received a delegation on Thursday led by Fawaz Bilbeisi, Regional Manager for the International Finance Corporation (IFC), to discuss ways to modernize investment licensing.

According to a readout from the KRG, during the meeting, both sides reviewed the progress of the partnership between the KRG Board of Investment and IFC, particularly efforts to modernise the licensing process to promote more national and foreign investment. 

Prime Minister Barzani also expressed appreciation for the IFC’s support for the KRG’s plans to create special economic zones across the Kurdistan Region.

The IFC delegation expressed readiness to invest in the private sector in ways that advance the KRG’s economic diversification efforts, particularly in agriculture, industry, banking, and energy.

The KRG Board of Investment and the IFC signed a four-year partnership in September 2023 to accelerate investments and help reform the legal and regulatory framework necessary for special economic zones.