Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KIRKUK127
2006-07-15 14:42:00
CONFIDENTIAL
REO Kirkuk
Cable title:  

(C) PM BARZANI: INVESTMENT LAW PASSES; KRG EDUCATION IN

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PINS PINR PNAT PREF PREL KDEM IZ 
pdf how-to read a cable
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PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHIHL
DE RUEHKUK #0127/01 1961442
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P R 151442Z JUL 06
FM REO KIRKUK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0685
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0647
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RUEHKUK/REO KIRKUK 0713
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000127 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/15/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINS PINR PNAT PREF PREL KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: (C) PM BARZANI: INVESTMENT LAW PASSES; KRG EDUCATION IN
CRISIS


KIRKUK 00000127 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Tim Uselmann, Political Officer, IPAO, Department
of State.
REASON: 1.4 (a),(d)



C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KIRKUK 000127

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 7/15/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINS PINR PNAT PREF PREL KDEM IZ
SUBJECT: (C) PM BARZANI: INVESTMENT LAW PASSES; KRG EDUCATION IN
CRISIS


KIRKUK 00000127 001.2 OF 002


CLASSIFIED BY: Tim Uselmann, Political Officer, IPAO, Department
of State.
REASON: 1.4 (a),(d)




1. (C) Summary. KRG Prime Minister Nechirwan Barzani said in
July 2
meetings with IPAO that the new Investment Promotion Law had
been held
up in Parliament over the provision for 100% foreign ownership of
property. He said the KRG had a window of opportunity for
attracting
foreign investment that might change if security improved in the
south.
Also, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Ministry of
Finance should
have a budget by 2007. Finally, Barzani requested U.S.
assistance in
building new schools and training teachers. This is the second
of
two cables addressing this meeting
(REFTEL). End Summary.

INVESTMENT PROMOTION LAW HITS BUMP, PASSES
--------------


2. (C) Passage of the Investment Promotion Law was delayed
because
committee members disagreed with the 100% ownership provision for
foreign companies. Barzani said they wanted to require
investors to
establish a 49-51% joint venture (JV) with a local company.
(Note: The
law passed July 5 with three members dissenting.) He said he
would not
compromise on this issue and had asked the committee for two
years to
test the provision.


3. (C) Local companies lacked the experience to enter into a JV
with a
foreign company, opening the door to mafia-style control over JV
partnerships. He wanted investors to invest without
restrictions or
second-rate partnerships, and with the support of a good legal
structure. Kurdistan should be the gateway to Iraq for
investors. The
KRG needed to push for these incentives now because they had a
window of
opportunity to take advantage of the poor security in the rest
of Iraq.
He added, "Time is not on our side."

Ministry of Finance
--------------


4. (C) Barzani said the KRG Ministry of Finance should have a
budget by

2007. Ten committees had been established to unite the financial
regulations, including customs, taxation, and finance. He said
currently funds were limited and there was no sense of the
budget.

Education System in Dire Need of Assistance
-------------- --------------


5. (SBU) Barzani said the KRG badly needed assistance in
developing the
education system. They needed new schools, teacher training,
and a
revised curriculum. Barzani asked for teacher training not only
in
their subjects but to develop tolerance of diversity and
knowledge about
democracy and the principles of a civil society.


6. (SBU) Many schools had three shifts a day because there were
not
enough classrooms for children to attend at the same time.
After 2003,
expectations for the future rose and many wanted to resume their
education. Every year, an additional 65,000 students had
returned to
school. Eight hundred new schools were needed throughout Erbil,
Dohuk,
and Sulaymaniyah. He said the South Koreans were doing an
excellent job

monitoring construction of the 52 schools they were building.


KIRKUK 00000127 002.2 OF 002



7. (C) Barzani said the national education curriculum was
inappropriate
for schools in the Kurdistan Region. The sciences were not a
problem,
however the history of Iraq tended towards an Arab-centric
version,
describing the region as the "Arab homeland" and the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers as the "source of the Arab world." There was
also too
much focus on Islam and a differing view on Palestine. He said
the KRG
did not want violence and intolerance taught in the KRG schools.


8. (C) Barzani said that five years ago he had closed an Islamic
college
in Dohuk because of its strict religious curriculum. He refused
calls
to reopen it despite partial funding by Saudis and private
offers to
help.
He said that since closing the school, violence in the area had
been
easier
to deal with.

COMMENT:
--------------


9. (C) The quick passage of the Investment Promotion Law was
expected.
The KRG's next step will be to coordinate with the central
government
on large investment projects and implement much needed banking
and
legal frameworks. Education in the Kurdistan Region is as dire
as
the Prime Minister represents it. Providing additional U.S.
assistance
in education is an opportunity to affect the population in real
terms.
End comment.
JBIGUS