United States - Kurdistan Business Council
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Latest News
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  • 2022 Annual Trade Delegation   
​Following a hiatus due to closed borders and Covid 19, the USKBC visited Kurdistan to reconvene with high level officials, explore new business opportunities, and witness the Kurdistan Region's post-pandemic economic recovery.  








  • ​2019 Annual Trade Delegation The Kurdistan Regional Government recently seated a new administration led by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani. The USKBC is honored to be invited by the KRG to organize the first American business delegation to Kurdistan since the government formation. The delegation will visit the regional capital, Erbil, and meet with senior government officials and business leaders from around the Kurdistan Region, between October 13 and 17.  

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              ​Annual Trade Delegation 2018
            Since the USKBC was founded, we have taken dozens of US          
            companies to numerous cities in the Kurdistan Region to meet 
            Cabinet members and private Kurdish companies on our annual
            trade delegation trip.  We have helped many companies to           
            invest in and establish flourishing businesses by making        
             sure  they are well connected and supported.  
          


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​Claremont Group Success

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Claremont Group is a New York based real estate development firm which has been operating in the Kurdistan region of Iraq since 2010.  Claremont's first initiative in the Kurdistan region was The Atlantic - a residential community of over 1,500 villas and apartments in Erbil.  With first-ever bank financing offered to homeowners through OPIC bank, The Atlantic is now delivered and occupied.  Claremont's second major project is the Double Tree by Hilton hotel, slated for delivery by the end of 2018.  As a founding member of the USKBC and an active participant in USKBC missions and events, Claremont has been able to strengthen existing bonds within the Kurdistan business and governmental spheres while forging new relationships for continued and long-term growth.

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USKBC CEO Gen. (ret.) James Jones on Operation Provide Comfort

​Nearly a quarter century after the U.S.-European alliance undertook Operation Provide Comfort (OPC) in 1991, in response to Saddam Hussein’s plan to take militarily action against the Kurds in northern Iraq, this operation remains in the history books as an under-appreciated success story of geo-strategic importance. As the tragedy in Syria continues to unfold, the collective lessons learned on both sides of the Atlantic during the course of OPC should receive serious attention. 

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Spirit of America Success

​As a nonprofit charity dedicated to supporting the safety and success of US troops, their partners, and local communities they seek to help, Spirit of America views the Kurdistan region of Iraq as one of its highest priority regions. Having local knowledge and connections to key leaders and stakeholders in the Kurdistan region is vital for us to provide meaningful assistance.
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US-Kurdistan Business Delegation Delivers Humanitarian Support to Internally Displaced Yazidi Students in Iraqi Kurdistan

Dohuk, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - December 15, 2016 – An international delegation of business and humanitarian leaders led by the United States-Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) has provided funding and distribution of more than 125 school uniforms for internally displaced students who have found shelter in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. The distribution was conducted by the USKBC delegation in partnership with Linking the World and EDGE Institute.
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American charity supports women fighters in the fight against ISIS

Los Angeles – May 18, 2016 – Having recently returned from Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Spirit of America, a citizen-funded nonprofit charity based in the United States, today announced that it will equip an all-female Peshmerga unit with individual first aid kits (IFAK) as they help liberate their country from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. ​
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GardaWorld the first company in the world to certify to new ISO standard

Montreal, Quebec, Canada (March 02, 2016) – Garda World Security Corporation (“GardaWorld”), the world’s largest privately owned security and cash services provider, announced today that its International Protective Services business is now the first company in the world to hold the ISO 18788 security standard across its entire operations.
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Governor of Kirkuk Addresses USKBC

Washington, DC - United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) members received a private briefing from Dr. Najmaldin Karim, the Governor of Kirkuk Province in Iraq, about security in the province and what Kirkuk can offer investors.
 

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Kurdistan Region President Barzani addresses USKBC members

Washington, DC - The United States-Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) in partnership with the US Chamber of Commerce hosted for the American business community a private briefing with President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani and senior Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials travelling with him to the US.
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United States Kurdistan Business Council Meets Kurdistan Regional Government's New Representation in Washington

Washington, DC — 19 February 2015 — The United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) board members received a private briefing from the honorable Bayan Sami Rahman, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) new Representative to the U.S. about the political and security climates in Iraq and the Kurdistan region; KRG relations with Iraq’s Federal government, the fight against ISIS and the humanitarian crisis in the region.   
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Kurdistan Regional Government Deputy Prime Minister Addresses USKBC

​Washington, DC – On 10 December, 2014, The United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) hosted Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) during his visit to the US to meet with senior Administration officials and key members of Congress.  
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USKBC Business Council Meets with McCain, Hosts KRG Top Diplomat

​The United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) hosted Minister Falah Bakir, the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) top diplomat in Washington, DC during the minister’s visit to the U.S. to meet with senior Administration officials and key members of Congress.
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​US-Kurdistan Business Council Hosts Top Kurdish Officials in Washington, DC

​The United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) hosted two top Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials in Washington at a closed-door meeting. Dr. Fuad Hussein, Chief of Staff to Kurdistan president Masood Barzani, and Minister Falah Bakir, head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations met the Council during the delegation’s visit to the US to meet with senior Administration officials. 
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USKBC Hosts Reception for Top US Diplomat in Kurdistan Region of Iraq

​Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - March 4, 2014 - The United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) hosted a well-attended reception in Erbil in honor of United States Consul General (CG) Joe Pennington, the top American diplomat in the Kurdistan region. Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) minister Qubad Talabani, a senior advisor to KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani also made brief remarks at the reception attended by dozens of American and Kurdish companies as well. Hunt Consolidated Inc., a USKBC founding corporate board member, sponsored the event.
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Business Rebuilds in a Thriving City in Iraq

Erbil, Iraq — Perception is not always reality with emerging business travel destinations. That’s especially true for Erbil, the political and business capital of the autonomous Kurdish region in the north of Iraq. The city is becoming an alternative to Iraq’s southern provinces to tap into the country’s oil wealth and other business opportunities. 
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USKBC Meets with Senior Delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government This Week

​Washington, DC - September 12, 2013 - The United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) this week heard about the latest political and economic developments in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from a Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) ministerial-level delegation.
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The Kurds Don't Wish to Tear Iraq Apart

Real Clear World, By Ashti Hawrami - April 14, 2013 - ​The vast energy assets of my country, Iraq, were long abused to fund regional conflicts and instruments of internal repression. No one knows that better than the Kurds, who were the target of a brutal campaign of genocide that culminated in the chemical bombardment of Halabja in the late 1980s. Today, thanks to the American actions in liberating Iraq, our oil and gas resources can become a source of stability for us, and provide dependable security of supply to the global energy market.
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Jackson Diehl: Iraqi Kurdistan in Bloom

The Washington Post, By Jackson Diehl, April 14, 2013 - By now it’s obvious that “spring” is the wrong description of the political turmoil and civil war that have followed the Arab revolutions of 2011. But for one nation in the Middle East, it’s beginning to look like freedom and prosperity just might be blooming. “People are beginning to talk about the Kurdish Spring, not the Arab Spring,” says a grinning Fuad Hussein, a senior official in the government of Iraqi Kurdistan.
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Iraqi Kurdistan's Economic Revival

BBC, March 9, 2013 - Iraqi Kurdistan has flourished economically in the decade since the US-led invasion, but even before that it had been enjoying a large degree of autonomy. 
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Q&A: General James Jones

By Ben Lando, Iraq Oil Report - December 26, 2012 - About a year after leaving his post as National Security Adviser to President Barack Obama, Gen. (Ret.) James Jones was tapped to lead a U.S. business trade group focused on increasing ties with Iraqi Kurdistan. The United States-Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) officially launched in April 2012. Jones has become a strong proponent of "energy security" as a strategic U.S. foreign policy objective, having served in positions at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and now the Bi-Partisan Policy Center.
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U.S. to End 16-Year Ban on Commercial Flights to Iraq

By Alan Levin, Bloomberg News - December 5, 2012 - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is lifting a 16-year-old ban on commercial flights by U.S. carriers to two airports in Kurdish northern Iraq, citing increased stability in the region. Civilian flights to that nation, which had been the scene a U.S.-imposed no-fly zone and then a war to depose President Saddam Hussein, were halted in 1996 for safety reasons, the FAA said in a notice to be published in the Federal Register tomorrow.
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Largest U.S. Business Delegation Visits Kurdistan

Iraq-Business News - October 21, 2012 - President Masoud Barzani welcomed the largest ever American business delegation this week which was visiting Kurdistan to explore investment opportunities in the Kurdistan Region and to participate in the Erbil International Fair. The US-Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) brought a 48-member delegation, representing 30 companies in diverse sectors, to meet with various KRG officials in Erbil and Slemani. The delegation was looking for opportunities to increase investment and trade for US companies in the Region and to strengthen ties in the private sector.
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USKBC Meets with President Barzani

Washington, DC — October 17, 2012 — The United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) is visiting the Kurdistan Region on the largest ever trade mission of U.S. companies to the Region. Over the past two days, the USKBC delegation of thirty companies met with Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani and several KRG ministers.
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USKBC Embarks on Historic Trade Mission to Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Washington, DC — October 12, 2012 — The United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) CEO General James Jones (USMC-Ret) is leading the largest ever trade mission of U.S. business people to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The USKBC-sponsored, 48-member delegation represents 30 U.S. companies and organizations from diverse industry sectors. 
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USKBC Meets in Washington with Senior Kurdistan Regional Government Delegation

Washington, DC - September 17, 2012 - The United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) board members received a private briefing from senior Iraqi Kurdish officials about economic development in the Kurdistan Region and the political situation in Iraq.
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Withdrawal from Iraq shouldn't Equal Abandonment

Politico, By Sally Painter - July 17, 2012 - Indeed, rule of law, even Iraq’s territorial integrity, appear in danger. Maliki took advantage of the U.S. departure by almost immediately issuing an arrest warrant of his vice president — a political rival allied with the opposition Sunni bloc Iraqiya. In retaliation, Iraqiya began a government boycott, which allowed Maliki to consolidate power even more. 
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USKBC Briefs U.S. Congressional Staff During Historic Visit to Kurdistan Region of Iraq

Washington, DC — May 9, 2012 — Last week, the newly formed United States Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC) held its first briefing in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq with the largest United States congressional staff delegation to ever visit the region. 
 
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USKBC Names General James Jones as CEO

​Washington, DC — April 16, 2012 — The U.S.-Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC), a trade group of U.S. companies investing in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, named former U.S. National Security Advisor General James Jones (USMC-Ret) as the council’s CEO last week during a reception honoring President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani.
 
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New U.S.-Kurdistan Business Council Launches at Event Featuring  Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani 

Washington, DC — April 3, 2012 — The U.S.-Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC), a new organization made up of U.S. companies investing in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, will be launched at an event welcoming the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq Masoud Barzani during his official visit to the United States.
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New U.S. Business Council Seeks to Strengthen Trade and Investment in Iraqi Kurdistan

​Washington, DC - February 27, 2012 — Recognizing Iraqi Kurdistan's economic potential, leading U.S. CEOs have launched the U.S.-Kurdistan Business Council (USKBC), a members-driven trade association aimed at facilitating greater trade and commerce between U.S. companies and the Kurdistan Region.
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