ERBIL () - New businesses in Zakho are being required to use authentic Kurdish names as a condition for obtaining commercial licenses, part of an effort by local authorities to strengthen the presence of the Kurdish language in a city experiencing rapid growth in trade, tourism and private investment.
The Zakho Directorate of Culture and Arts has made the use of Kurdish a requirement in the business licensing process across the Zakho Independent Administration.
Under the measure, traders and business owners applying to open a shop or private project must select an authentic Kurdish name for the establishment. Applications that do not meet the requirement will be rejected and no license will be issued.
Authorities say the policy is being implemented fully across the independent administration.
The stated objective is to reduce the use of foreign expressions on commercial signs and preserve the place of the Kurdish mother tongue in markets, streets and the wider business environment.
The measure comes at a time when Zakho's commercial profile is expanding.
The city has developed into an important trade gateway linking the Kurdistan Region and Iraq with Türkiye and European markets, while local authorities have also placed growing emphasis on tourism, infrastructure and private-sector investment.
That growth has accelerated since Zakho was formally established as an independent administration on Sept. 20, 2021, following a decision by the Kurdistan Regional Government's Council of Ministers during the Ninth Cabinet.
Recent reporting has documented significant expansion across roads, tourism, health, education and public services during the five years since that administrative change.
Gohdar Shekho, supervisor of the Zakho Independent Administration, said this month that 445 projects had been implemented and another 90 were under construction, alongside dozens of licensed private-sector and investment projects.
Tourism has become one of the most visible areas of that development.
Shekho told that more than one million tourists visited Zakho last year and that 20 tourism projects were already under construction, while plans were being prepared for what he described as the largest tourism project in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.
Commercial activity has expanded alongside that tourism growth.
On Sept. 21, the Second Zakho International Trade Fair opened with more than 100 participating companies from the food, construction, technology and automotive sectors.
correspondent Mehvan Majid, reporting from Zakho, said companies from 20 countries accounted for 60% of the participants, with local businesses making up the remainder.
The fair was intended to strengthen links between local and international companies while also creating employment opportunities.
Against that background, the new language requirement places cultural policy directly within Zakho's economic development.
As more shops, tourism businesses and private projects open, authorities are seeking to ensure that Kurdish remains visible in the city's commercial identity rather than being displaced by foreign-language branding.
The measure also reflects a broader approach in Zakho in which development and heritage preservation have proceeded alongside one another.
While the administration has invested in roads, hotels, parks and new tourism facilities, it has also renovated historic and cultural sites including the old bazaar, Zakho Citadel, Dalal Bridge Square and Haji Ibrahim Mosque.
For local authorities, the Kurdish-language licensing policy extends that focus from physical heritage into everyday commercial life.
The objective is not simply to regulate signs, but to make the Kurdish language part of the visual identity of shops, projects and businesses operating in the administration.
With Zakho continuing to attract investment and international companies, the new rule establishes a clear condition for future commercial expansion: economic development may continue, but new businesses entering that environment are expected to carry Kurdish names into the marketplace with them.
