southern iraq around basra were simply so huge the oil majors, the bps and exxon mobils and chinese national petroleum corporations couldn't afford to upset the baghdad government but there is significant investment from a number of small and mid-size companiesin kurdistan. >>reporter: one foreign entrepreneur, in the embryonic tourist industry, has achieved the dream of making kurdistan a gateway for business to iraq. babel tours, in the regional capital erbil, recently hit the headlines with the first tour of southern iraq >>debbasch: in erbil i had no doubt from the very beginning that it was possible to take people because erbil, and all kurdistan, there is no problem to go and discover the country with perfect security. >>reporter: security remains a key issue not only within iraq but because of its geographic position at the heart of the volatile middle east. >>despite kurdistan's growing ties to close neighbour iran, us businesses are ramping up their presence in this resource-rich, needs-hungry area. >>schweitzer: we've had an iraq business initiative since late 2008, but we are re-energising