MADRID, 11 November 2010
Daban Shadala, the KRG representative to Spain met with Irune Aguirrezabal of the Basque government and also with trade officials at the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce in the Basque Country region of Spain.
This week the Kurdistan Regional Government representative to Spain, Daban Shadala, travelled to the Basque country region of Spain to meet with Mrs. Irune Aguirrezabal, Director for the EU and the Coordination of Foreign Affairs of the Basque Government in the region’s capital Vitoria Gasteiz. He also met with officials at the Bilbao Chamber of Commerce and was accompanied by KRG Spain’s Director for Trade and Investment, Amanj Yarwaessi.
In his meeting with Mrs. Aguirrezabal, Representative Shadala expressed that the KRG aims to establish strong relations with the Basque Country region of Spain and recognizes the region’s strong cultural and economic influence across Spain.
Mrs. Aguirrezabal thanked the KRG official for visiting Vitoria and talked about the Basque Country’s strong economy and leadership in the area of renewable energy. She also talked about the region’s cultural and gastronomic reputation.
Bilbao Chamber of Commerce
In Bilbao, KRG Spain met with Mr. José Luis Gil, responsible for Foreign Trade Promotion at Bilbao Chamber of Commerce, and Mr. Unai Jauregui of Fluidex, the Spanish Association of Fluid Handling Equipment Exporters.
During the meeting, Mr. Gil and Mr. Jauregui were shown an economic presentation about the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, and the investment opportunities available in the Region. The Chamber of Commerce officials showed a lot of interest in the economic development s of Kurdistan and Mr. Gil commented that he has had good relations with Iraqi Kurdish businessmen in the past. He also suggested that KRG Spain should pursue establishing economic and trade relations especially in the agricultural and industrial sectors.
The another talking point of the meeting was with regards to organizing a trade delegation to the Kurdistan Region, which was well received by Mr. Gil and Mr. Jauregui.
Representative Shadala is currently in the process of travelling to the different autonomous regions of Spain as part of KRG Spain’s efforts to raise awareness about the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and its institutions.
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