In The Shadows Of Iraq: Qubad Talabani (Part 1)

Qubad Talabani is the son of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, and is a representative of the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq. The entire world is all too familiar with the war going on in that country. While I am not interested in exploring the political ramifications of such a war, history has taught us that the rebuilding efforts after traumatic events can bring out rapid business development (or fail entirely and lead a country in a downward spiral). The intent of this interview is to explore at a very rudimentary level the potential for economic development and entrepreneurial opportunities in Iraq. To explore this further, Qubad agreed to discuss the Kurdish story with me, from which it is possible to identify opportunities for investment and entrepreneurial endeavors.

SM: To begin, can you give us a bit of background on Kurdistan? How does it tie into Iraq, what has the economic outlook been through the various periods of time? Most of my readers are not going to be familiar with this area, so something to give them context for the rest of the interview. QT: Since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, the Kurds in Iraqi Kurdistan have made many achievements to the point they are now lauded as the Iraqi success story. Still though, over the past century the Kurds have endured hardship and tragedy. Some significant events include the Halabja chemical and gas attacks and the 1991 uprising against Saddam, which led to severe human rights repercussions that are still felt today.

Iraqi Kurdistan, the northern most region of Iraq, gained de facto autonomy when the no-fly zone was established in Iraq in 1991. Since then, the Kurds in Iraq have been running their own affairs — politically, economically, and militarily — within the Kurdistan region. Today, the region is under the jurisdiction of the Kurdistan Regional Government, which oversees its own parliament and security forces, all recognized by the current Iraqi constitution.

Kurds are ethnically different from their Arab brothers in Iraq. We are ethnically Kurdish, with our language, Kurdish, being of Indo-European origin. Kurds are situated in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, as well as some areas of the former Soviet Republic. Today, only in Iraq do Kurds enjoy their full rights of self-determination, as they live within a constitutionally ratified federation that grants the Kurdistan Region a strong degree of self-governance.

[to be continued]

This segment is part 1 in the series : In The Shadows Of Iraq: Qubad Talabani
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