Kurdistan is showing signs of real hope – but the UK needs to amend its policy to maximise local success

By Gary Kent

Iraq could work much better if the steady success of its Kurdistan region spreads throughout the country. “The Other Iraq” enjoyed a head start over the rest of the country after its 1991 uprising ousted Saddam’s genocidal forces which murdered 200,000 people.

Security is tight with about 120 terrorist killings since 2003, and crime is tiny. There’s been a development boom. Unions are social partners and back full union rights in the rest of Iraq, where they are restricted.

Oil and gas provide virtually all Iraq’s revenues but external investment and internal diversification are vital. Agriculture was born in Kurdistan but liquidated by Saddam. Most food is imported, although it could become self-sufficient with foreign investment.

But Kurdish leaders are mystified that there has been no official UK ministerial trade mission whilst other European countries are enthusiastic in trading with the Region.

Kurdistan is, I suspect, wrongly overlooked in case UK engagement upsets Arab Iraq. However, let’s be plain about matters – Kurdistan is open to business which is currently less feasible elsewhere. Kurdistan could become the gateway to the whole country and companies could expand as security permits. UK Ministers need to re-examine policy on this.

Kurdistan’s leaders are open to international best practice. Their Speaker asked us to outline the British political system and over half their 111 MPs enthusiastically turned up. They were keen to understand our Official Opposition system. They now have one: Gorran (the Change). This breakaway from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) took 25% of the seats in last year’s elections. The split is very bitter and Gorran has yet to find its feet, but the emergence of a secular opposition is an important example for the Middle East.

Discussion in landlocked Kurdistan always turns to the neighbours. The good news is that frosty relations with Turkey have thawed massively in the last year, partly driven by extensive trading. However, Turkey and Iran are manipulating water supplies and one leading politician told us directly that Iran is not a neighbour but controls Shia Iraq. The bad news is that relations between Iraqi Kurds and some Arabs have worsened considerably – improvement is therefore a priority.

Iraqi Kurdistan has come far quickly but governance and human rights also need improving. Its leaders and people desire deeper and wider political and commercial engagement by the UK and others. It is in everyone’s interests that Kurdistan achieves its full potential within and for Iraq.

Gary Kent‘s sixth fact-finding visit to Iraq and fourth to Kurdistan since 2006 (this time with Meg Munn MP) was with the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kurdistan and as a guest of the Kurdistan Parliament. They met the President, Speaker, Prime Minister, Interior Minister, other ministers, unions, women activists, Gorran, Christian leaders and British and Kurdish business leaders over five days.

A different version of this post first appeared in Tribune.