See here for the text of an Adjournment Debate on 12 January on government policy towards Kurdistan in which LFIQ supporter Meg Munn MP referred to the recent APPG visit to the Region.
She said that The year 2003 brought liberation for the people of the Kurdistan region of Iraq, who made up the only Iraqi force that fought alongside British and American forces. However, I believe that the UK has overlooked Kurdistan, the most secure and successful region of Iraq, undermining the whole country’s renewal and hindering British commercial and political objectives.
Politicians and businesspeople whom I met were mystified and disappointed by the British Government’s behaviour since liberation. As the Prime Minister said to me, Kurdistan is the success of UK policy, yet the policy has not involved equal treatment for all the people of Iraq. The UK has been reluctant to develop our relationship with the Kurdish region for fear of causing problems with the majority Arab population, and its continuing improvement and success in the development of democracy and the security of the people is not being embraced as a model for the wider region. Instead, the British Government’s failure to update their understanding of the security situation in the region has damaged British interests.
Trade must be a greater priority in Iraqi Kurdistan. Companies investing there can later expand their operations to the south. For many British and other companies, Kurdistan is now the only part of Iraq that is truly open for business; the rest is only partially open, although I hope that it will catch up with Kurdistan as soon as possible. Kurdistan’s political, civic and business leaders have long appealed for such links. They appreciate the quality and expertise of British companies and institutions and wish to be our political and security ally.