ABU DHABI, UAE - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani told The New Region on Tuesday that the UAE intends to appoint a special investment envoy to the Kurdistan Region.

“The UAE very seriously and passionately wants to have investments in Kurdistan. They will probably in the near future assign someone, a special envoy for investment to Kurdistan. This is a big step forward. They are currently working on that. They may announce it officially soon,” Barzani told The New Region’s Mustafa Mala Hasan on Tuesday.

“It indicates that the UAE wants to have investments in Kurdistan, and through Kurdistan with the rest of Iraq,” President Barzani added.

The Kurdish leader detailed that trade volume between Iraq and the UAE stands at around 30 billion dollars, “a portion of which is with the Kurdistan Region.”

Barzani arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday afternoon on an official visit, meeting with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and discussing a range of topics, including regional developments and bilateral ties.

“We discussed ways to further strengthen cooperation between the UAE, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region, as well as unfolding regional developments,” Barzani wrote in a post on X after the pair’s meeting on Monday.

A top delegation headed by Mohammed Shukri, head of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Investment Board, is also in the UAE, attending the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) Congress in Abu Dhabi. The event is attended by international business leaders and policymakers from across the world.

The Kurdistan Region and the UAE enjoy close ties across many sectors.

An estimated 200 Emirati companies currently invest in the Kurdistan Region, contributing to a trade volume exceeding two billion dollars, with Dana Gas being the most salient example.

Dana Gas, a UAE-based energy giant, has played a pivotal role in producing the Kurdistan Region’s natural gas since 2007 and currently operates in the Khor Mor and Chemchemal fields.

In addition to investments, the UAE has supported the Kurdistan Region in its fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), mainly through humanitarian assistance to displaced individuals and refugees.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani has met with UAE President Al Nahyan twice this year to build “deeper ties” between Erbil and the oil-rich Gulf country.

A top delegation from the Kurdistan Region, headed by Prime Minister Barzani, joined heads of state and government, 140 governmental delegations, and 400 ministers at the World Governments Summit in Dubai in February to “enhance relations” between the Kurdistan Region and the international community across various fields, especially in economy, trade, and investment.