The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced a record performance in investment activities during 2025, granting 210 licenses totaling nearly $3 billion. During the Ninth Cabinet, a total of 768 projects have been licensed, creating approximately 15,000 new jobs last year alone.
Dr. Mohammed Shukri, Chairman of the Kurdistan Region Board of Investment, emphasized the KRG’s commitment to making the private sector a genuine partner in regional economic development. To date, the private sector has directly created 161,000 jobs, with thousands more in indirect opportunities.
The Board of Investment actively represented Kurdistan at international events in 2025, including the World Economic Forum in Davos, where it established the “Kurdistan House.” It also participated in the largest agricultural exhibition in Paris, the Istanbul Agriculture Fair, the Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi, and the Gulf Exhibition in Dubai, attracting hundreds of foreign trade and investment delegations.
Several key agreements were signed with Dutch and Italian companies, including projects in agriculture and the redevelopment of the Gali Ali Beg site, featuring a cable car.
Dr. Shukri also highlighted domestic industrial growth, noting the foundation stones laid for major factories, including Iraq’s largest brick factory, an iron roll manufacturing plant, and a building materials facility. The “Megal” project for meat and dairy production, a strategic initiative, has already created 500 jobs, reinforcing the KRG’s focus on sustainable development and private sector partnership.
