Author: bamerni » Wed Aug 24, 2005 1:07 am
KURDISTAN INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR INVESTMENT AND DEVELOPMENT
http://www.kurdistanib.com/
South Korean bank inaugurated in Irbil
09/11/2004 Peyamner
IRBIL, Kurdistan (Peyamner)— Amidst escalating of violence and the declared Martial Law throughout Iraq, except for the Kurdish region in the north, the Korean Bank opened its first subdivision in Iraqi Kurdistan on Monday.
Officials here said that the opening of a foreign bank in the Kurdish capital is “yet another step” towards stimulating the economy in the region as well as in Iraq. There were no details as to how the bank would operate or what its function would be.
“The Kurdish region by virtue of its stability and peacefulness could become an invigorating gateway for exciting the economy in the whole of Iraq,” Serkis Agacan, the Kurdish deputy Prime Minister said in the inauguration ceremony who was also attended by high South Korean military commanders.
The decision of the inauguration followed the four-day visit of the South Korean Defence Minister Yoon Kwang-ung to Iraq last week in which he held meetings with both Kurdish as well as Iraqi top officials.
South Korea has 2,800 soldiers in the Kurdish-controlled autonomous town of Irbil, making it the third-largest contributor to the U.S.-led coalition after the U.S. and Britain.
Speaking to the reporters, back in Seoul, Mr Kwang-ung ruled out the possibility of South Korean troops being involved in combat or public security missions in Iraqi Kurdistan, in his words, “considering the safe security conditions of the Kurdish-autonomous region.”
"About 40,000 regional police and civilian militias have been maintaining full security," said the Minister, who recently visited the South Korean military camp. The Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and the Kurdish officials in Irbil on Friday called for an extension of South Korean troop deployment in Iraqi Kurdistan. The South Korean contingent, dubbed the Zaytun ("olive" ) Unit, is only authorized to stay in Iraqi Kurdistan until the end of this year.
Peyamner.com