Prime Minister Masrour Barzani attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, advancing Kurdistan’s economic, diplomatic, and investment opportunities internationally
Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, arrived in Switzerland on January 20, 2025, to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, which was held this year under the slogan “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.”
During his participation in the conference, the Prime Minister held a series of meetings with prime ministers and senior officials of the world and discussed opportunities to promote cooperation with the Kurdistan Region, especially in the fields of economy, trade, and investment.
Also, this year, “Kurdistan House” in Davos, which was opened last year on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, organized several activities with the participation of investors, capitalists, and entrepreneurs of Kurdistan with the aim of introducing the Kurdistan Region and developing investment and trade exchange.
The participation of the Prime Minister in the Davos World Economic Forum is part of his continuous efforts to strengthen the position of the Kurdistan Region at international and diplomatic levels and promote the process of investment and economic development in the Kurdistan Region.
Message from the Prime Minister
“On the first day of the Davos Forum, at the opening of Kurdistan House in Davos, Switzerland, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said: We are pleased to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos for the second year under the name of Kurdistan House. We are very happy to participate in the World Economic Forum in Davos under the name of Kurdistan House. We have been participating in this forum for many years. He also said: This is the second year that we have established Kurdistan House in Davos.”
“The Prime Minister thanked those who played a role in establishing Kurdistan House in Davos, especially Khalid Khoshnaw who undertook the task of building the house which has become a place for the people of Kurdistan. The Prime Minister expressed hope that the Kurdistan Region would become a gateway for Iraq and the region to develop economic progress in the area.”
Panorama of Meetings of Prime Minister in Davos
First: On January 21, 2025, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with a delegation from the Kingdom of Bahrain, including Prince Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Sheikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy, Abdullah Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce and Sheikh Salman Ahmad Al Khalifa, Chief of Staff of the Crown of Bahrain.
Second: On January 21, 2025, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, met with Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, as part of his participation in Davos. He stressed the importance of the position of the Kurdistan Region and his country’s readiness to further develop relations between the Kurdistan Region and Belgium.
Third: On January 21, 2025, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, met with Jan Lipavsky, Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, in Davos. The meeting discussed the development of relations between the Kurdistan Region and the Czech Republic in various fields, especially in economic diversification.
Fourth: On the sidelines of the Davos Economic Forum, on January 21, 2025, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, met with Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Investment Minister conveyed greetings and respect from King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Prime Minister and reaffirmed his country’s desire to develop bilateral relations.
Fifth: On January 21, 2025, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, met with Aidaros Zubaidi, Deputy Chairman of the Yemeni Presidency Council and Chairman of the Southern Yemeni Transitional Council.
Sixth: The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region and the Minister of Council of Ministers of the UAE discussed the development of relations and coordination between the Kurdistan Region and the UAE in the economic field.
Seventh: On January 21, 2025, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, in Davos.
Eighth: On the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, on January 22, 2025, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Besides discussing the situation in the Middle East and developments, both sides agreed on the necessity of maintaining peace and stability, and international community support for forming an inclusive government and participation of all Syrian components in the political process and administration of their country.
Ninth: On January 22, 2025, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, met with Majid al-Qasabi, Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia, in Davos.
Tenth: On January 22, 2025, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with Iranian Vice President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Eleventh: On January 22, 2025, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah of Jordan in Davos.
Twelfth: On January 22, 2025, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Davos.
Thirteenth: On January 23, 2025, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, in the sideline of the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland, met with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani.
Fourteenth: On January 23, 2025, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, met with Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister of European and Foreign Affairs of France, in Davos.
Fifteenth: On January 23, 2025, Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, met with Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of Croatia, on the last day of his participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos.
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani successfully achieved his goals in building and developing bridges of relationships for Kurdistan through his efforts and meetings.
Mard Ali Khala, a member of the Kurdistan delegation in Davos, writes: “At the Davos 2025 Economic Conference, the Kurdistan Region, led by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, emerged as an important and independent entity capable of acting and influencing at the international level. This participation reflected the political and economic will of the Kurdistan Region to move beyond expectations and marginalization and reach a level that can influence the process of global changes.”
He also added: “Despite the continuing obstacles related to the budget and constitutional rights within Iraq, the Kurdistan Region has proved that it has the ability to adapt and defend its interests. At the Davos forum, the Kurdistan Region attracted the attention of international companies and investors to economic opportunities, especially in the fields of energy, agriculture, tourism and technology. The main objective of this participation was to build bridges of communication, strengthen economic diplomacy, and demonstrate the ability of the Kurdistan Region as a stable and strong region.”
Shwan Zrari, one of the investors who accompanied the Prime Minister to the Davos Forum, said: “The Davos Economic Forum is a mixed forum in terms of economy, most of the world’s economic companies participate in this annually. The Davos Forum is a mixed forum of political and business panels. The participation of the Kurdistan delegation led by the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government is an important political thing every year.”
“There will be several important meetings with other prime ministers of the world to explain the problems of the past years and the economic and political developments that occurred in previous years will all be discussed. Despite all these problems, the ninth cabinet of the Kurdistan Region led by Masrour Barzani was able to overcome most of the problems,” Zrari added.
“Therefore, this opportunity in Davos is important for the Kurdistan Regional Government, as an advanced part of the federal government, to explain its views and perspectives to world leaders. The participation of the Investment Board as a delegation with the Prime Minister has its own economic importance, as several major investors from Kurdistan have participated in the delegation,” Zrari remarked.
He also said: “We have Kurdish houses in Davos. We as a delegation visit all other houses and they visit us. Last year we had several events at political and economic levels. We visited several country houses, and several Gulf and foreign houses visited the Kurdish house. They discussed and exchanged ideas about economic topics. The presence of major companies and their meetings has its own importance. Everyone in their own field and specialty works on establishing links with major companies, and after the Forum, those companies that had meetings and promised to work together will continue to communicate with each other.”
“The participation of the Kurdistan delegation led by the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government is politically important. Every year, the Prime Minister has several important meetings with other world prime ministers to discuss and explain the challenges of previous years and the economic and political developments that occurred. As with the Kurdistan Region, we went through several political and economic challenges in the past years. Despite all these difficulties, the ninth cabinet of the Kurdistan Region led by PM Barzani was able to overcome most of the problems,” he stated.
Zrari additionally said: “Therefore, this opportunity in Davos is important for the Kurdistan Regional Government, as an advanced part of the federal government, to explain its views and perspectives to world leaders. The participation of the Investment Board as a delegation with the Prime Minister has its own economic importance, as several major investors from Kurdistan have participated in the delegation.”
The Kurdish Globe