German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier opened on Wednesday German consulate in Iraq's northern Kurdish Autonomous Region, dpa reported.
Steinmeier's visit is expected to promote business and cultural ties with the relatively peaceful region.
Prime Minister of the autonomous region, Nerchivan Barzani, said the Kurdish region is a "gateway to Iraq" and invited German companies to invest in the region.
He visited Baghdad on Tuesday in the first trip by a high-ranking German official since the US-led invasion in 2003.
German companies have invested in large projects in the Kurdish region, according to lawmaker Osama al-Najifi, who was a minister of industry in Ibrahim al-Jaafari's government in 2006.
Steinmeier's visit comes a week after French President Nicolas Sarkozy visited Iraq.
Visits by foreign officials usually take place amidst tight security. The overall security situation in Iraq is seen to have improved significantly since 2003.
US President Barack Obama said that he would withdraw US troops from Iraq by the end of 2009.
Steinmeier arrived at the airport in Arbil with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari. He was received by the Kurdish region's President Massoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nerchivan Barzani.
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