MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Iraqi Kurdistan will ask Russia on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to invest in its oil and gas facilities, as well as to deepen the bilateral economic ties, Diyar Amin, a political adviser of the Iraqi Kurdistan Vice President Office, said.
"[Iraqi Kurdistan capital city of] Erbil seeks to encourage Moscow to more actively invest in Kurdistan's oil and gas industry. The issue of deepening the economic ties will be also discussed," Amin told Russia's Izvestia newspaper in an interview, published on Wednesday.
According to Amin, Erbil and Moscow also intend to exchange the intelligence information in order to fight against the Islamic State (Daesh) terrorist group.
On May 25, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov would hold a meeting with Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani on the sidelines of the SPIEF. According to Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov, Lavrov and Barzani will discuss the US-led coalition's operation against Daesh and the ongoing battle for Iraq's Mosul.
The SPIEF is the key global platform for business representatives’ communication and discussion of crucial economic issues that the world faces. At least 39 ministers from 26 states have confirmed their participation in the 2017 forum. Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is the official media partner of the forum.
