How can all sectors achieve balanced growth? How can cultural, scientific, and intellectual fields develop in tandem with economic growth? How to work toward building an advanced banking system? And what is the role of investors and business leaders in engaging with the markets of central and southern Iraq? These questions formed the core of a meeting between Qubad Talabani and investors and business leaders from Sulaymaniyah.

On the sidelines of the first day of the Sulaymaniyah Forum, on Thursday, September 17, 2026, Qubad Talabani, Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, met with a number of investors and business leaders from Sulaymaniyah Governorate, joined by the organizers of the Sulaymaniyah Forum.

During the meeting, after hearing the views and insights of the attendees, Qubad Talabani commended them for their significant contributions alongside government efforts over recent years in reviving and expanding the economy of the Kurdistan Region and Sulaymaniyah Governorate. He pledged full support in addressing their issues and overcoming obstacles.

The Deputy Prime Minister stated that their goal is to see balanced development across all sectors, ensuring that along with economic growth, the country advances in cultural, scientific, and intellectual areas as well. He encouraged investors to invest in these fields too.

Regarding the banking system in the Kurdistan Region, the Deputy Prime Minister stated: "Over the past period, efforts have been made and plans are in place to establish an advanced banking system that earns the trust of citizens."

Qubad Talabani also emphasized that investors and business leaders should not confine their focus to the markets of Sulaymaniyah Governorate and the Kurdistan Region alone, but should also turn their sights toward the markets of central and southern Iraq.

The Sulaymaniyah Forum took place on September 17–18, 2026, at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Sulaymaniyah, organized by the Vision Foundation for Strategic Studies in partnership with the Sulaymaniyah Financial and Economic Center, the Sulaymaniyah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Moonline Company.