ERBIL, Iraq, July 21 (UPI) -- Lebanon sees Iraqi Kurdistan as a potential partner for business and investment opportunities, the Kurdistan Regional Government said Monday.

Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani welcomed Lebanese Tourism Minister Joseph Sarkis, who visited the region with a delegation of officials from Beirut.

"The Lebanese government hopes that relations with the KRG continue to grow and that business and investment ties assist in expanding our friendship," Sarkis said.

Sarkis told Barzani the economic and security situation in the Kurdish region gave regional partners incentive to invest in several sectors in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Barzani responded in kind to the statements during a ceremony to lay the cornerstone of the Rotana Hotel in Erbil, an investment project backed by Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.

"I firmly believe that much potential exists for strengthening relations between the Kurdistan Region and Lebanon," the Kurdish premier said.

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