A forum on the opportunities for economic development of the Raparin Administration was held in the city of Ranya with the participation of government officials, experts, and academics. A forum was conducted on the steps toward advancing the Raparin Administration, and in three panels several solutions were presented for advancing infrastructure, the labor sector, and investment in the region.
The forum was held on 29/4/2026 at the University of Raparin by the Vision Foundation for Strategic Studies and the University of Raparin jointly. In addition to the speech of the President of the University of Raparin and the Supervisor of the Raparin Administration, Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, delivered an online speech and emphasized that from now on the steps will not only be directed toward advancing large cities, but development will also be given to districts and sub-districts.
Initially, Dr. Arez Mohammed, presented a seminar on public and private sector projects and then the first panel entitled (Strengthening the agriculture and tourism sectors in the Raparin Administration) included participation from Begard Dilshad Talabani, Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources; Amal Jalal, former head of the Kurdistan Regional Government Tourism Board; Dr. Azad Salih, university lecturer; and Arezu Barawi, owner of Kurdistan Outdoors Group. They presented their remarks and efforts for advancing the agriculture and tourism sectors
In the second panel, which was dedicated to (Opportunities for investment, trade, and industry in the infrastructure of the Raparin Administration), each of Shaho Najim, General Director of Investment in the Raparin Administration; Abbas Aziz Bayiz, Director of Raparin Customs; Ali Othman, Deputy of the Ministry of Trade and Industry; and Dr. Rozha Kamal, member of the board of the Raparin Development, participated and spoke about the opportunities that exist in the sectors of investment, trade, and industry in the region for further advancement.
The third panel was dedicated to (Providing job opportunities), with participation from Dr. Bewar Ahmed, university lecturer; Pekar Azad from (IOM); Dr. Didar Abdulkarim, head of the research department of the Vision Foundation; and Abu Bakr Ali Bayiz, head of the Association of Returned Refugees from Europe. They discussed the labor sector in the region, the causes of youth migration, and the ways to advance the lives of youth and encourage them.
The forum concluded with the reading of recommendations, and it is decided that the results will be directed to decision-makers in the future through conducting a study for the purpose of advancing the border areas of the Raparin Administration.