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8th Erbil International Fair draws participants from 23 countries
Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq - (KRG.org) – Senior Kurdistan Regional Government representatives yesterday officially opened the 8th annual Erbil International Fair, which is heralded to be the largest one yet.
This year’s fair (www.eif-expo.com) has attracted over 850 companies representing 23 countries around the world. Since the first of these fairs was held in Erbil in 2005, this has been the largest international trade fair in all of Iraq.
On behalf of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Sinan Çelebi, welcomed all of the guests to the 8th International Fair and highlighted the event’s progress. “If we look back over the years, we can see an average growth of about 15-20% yearly,” he said.
The minister went on to highlight the economic growth that the Kurdistan Region has seen over the past several years saying, “Only about seven years ago, the income per capita was about $300 per year, which is what many people in European countries can make in one day. Now it is over $6000.”
“This may still not seem like much,” he added, “but if you take the growth into consideration for this short period, it’s quite a big success.” We hope within the next ten years that this will rise to more than $10,000,” he said.
The fair, which runs through the 18th of October, attracts large business and investment delegations from a number of countries every year, and this year it brought in the largest US business delegation that has ever visited the Region.
The Governor of Erbil, Mr Nawzad Hadi, also spoke at the event along with the Head of the Erbil International Fair and the President of IFP.
The Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani was represented at the opening ceremony by his Chief of Staff, Dr Fuad Hussein. The Head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, also attended the event along with diplomats and representatives of major businesses participating in the fair.
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