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Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources meets British Trade and Investment Minister on London and Belfast visit

TUE, 14 AUG 2012 16:28 | KRG.org

London, UK - (uk.krg.org) – Professor Serwan Baban, the Kurdistan Regional Government's Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, this week in London met Lord Green, Minister of State for Trade and Investment with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. He also met other government officials in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and thanked them for their support for the Kurdistan Region.

Professor Baban informed Lord Green that Agriculture and Water Resources is one of the primary objectives of the KRG’s development plan and welcomed his support to engage British companies in supporting his ministry in its endeavours.

Lord Green noted that many of his good friends in the British government had visited Kurdistan and found the prosperity of the region astonishing. “I look forward to visiting Kurdistan in the near future and you have my full support in strengthening and further developing the already good relationship we have with the KRG.”

Minister Baban also met Ms Sonia Phippard, Director of Water, Floods, Environmental Risk and Regulation at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and discussed in length the challenges both the UK and the Kurdistan Region are facing with their water resources and how they can help Kurdistan to achieve its strategic goals. “We are seeking the advice and expertise of DEFRA to set a framework on how to secure food and water security for our region”.

Minister Baban also travelled to Belfast to meet with representatives from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Invest Northern Ireland, Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute and a number of Northern Ireland Universities. In the presence of representatives from the KRG UK Representation and Invest Northern Ireland, Minister Baban signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), a leading provider of scientific research in the field of agriculture, animal health, food, environment, biosciences and economics.

The joint declaration lays the foundation for further interaction between the KRG’s Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources with AFBI in capacity-building and scientific research. Professor Seamus Kennedy, Chief Executive of AFBI, thanked the KRG delegation for visiting their headquarters in Belfast and expressed his hope that the MOU would result in a meaningful and long-lasting relationship with the KRG and the people of Kurdistan.

Last month, the Northern Ireland Minister of Trade and Enterprise, Arlene Foster, during her second trip to Erbil, signed an MOU with the KRG covering cooperation in several fields including investment, commerce, education, agriculture and tourism.

The Minister was accompanied in all his meetings by the Director of Trade and Investment Relations, and the Director of Education and Cultural Affairs, from the KRG UK Representation. Minister Baban thanked them for their professionalism in organising his programme in both London and Belfast.

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