Turkish businesses and the referendum in northern Iraq

An independence referendum set to take place on Sept. 25 in northern Iraq, which has been suffering from an economic crisis for three years, preoccupies the agendas of businessmen who are associated with the area.

The most comfortable ones are Turkish contractors. The president of an association of Turkish construction firms, Mithat Yenigün, said, "We already left the area. The result of the referendum does not directly affect us."

The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) announced that there will be an independence referendum, arguing that they are not supported efficiently enough by the central government of Iraq. There is no doubt that the referendum will change the political equilibrium in the region.

Many countries, especially the United States, are supporting this decision. But Turkey is not happy with the decision and announced many times that it is against the referendum. Only five years ago there were more than 1,500 Turkish companies and Turkish contractors with investments worth $30 billion in the region.

What can happen in the economy of this market? How will an independence decision to emerge out of the referendum influence companies?

There has been an economic crisis for three years in the area. Northern Iraqi oil cannot be sold and the region does not get enough shares from the budget of the central government. The investments have been stopped. Turkish contractors left the area since they could not collect their dues worth almost $3 million.

The president of the Turkish Contractors Association (TCA) said there is no progress on the issue.

I asked Emin Taha, the president of the Turkish-Iraq Business Council which operates under the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK), about the...