RIYADH, 3 April 2003 — Saudi businessmen are keen to compete with international firms to win a piece of the Iraqi pie once the war is over and reconstruction begins, Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday.

The businessmen claim that their companies have more experience in the field of reconstruction than American and British companies and that economists are asking them to work together and move quickly, “because they will get better result if they are united.”

Dr. Abdul Aziz Dagestani, president of the House of Economic Studies, expressed his anxieties about how American and British companies may dominate the reconstruction scene.

“If Saudi companies do not move quickly, they will miss out on the opportunity to take part in rebuilding work in Iraq after the war.” He said the picture was not clear yet. “But Saudi companies are ready to play a role in Iraq and they have the experience,” he added.

Waleed Al-Rawaf, a businessman and economic analyst, said Saudis are familiar with the field of reconstruction and will help Iraq in the rebuilding process.

“It all depends on how fast Saudi companies move. I think the United Nations will not find anyone who is better than Saudis because they are familiar with the field,” he told Al-Madinah.

He denied that Saudi companies faced any difficulty in doing business in Iraq, but cautioned that Saudi businessmen must work together and cooperate with each other so that they will be more competitive and win contracts.

Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, chairman of the Council of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, agreed that Saudi companies would achieve better results in rebuilding Iraq if they worked together.

“We have an advantage because we are very close to Iraq and I think we can enter in a price competition with other companies. Assuming that American companies had the contract to rebuild Iraq, then they would have to buy building materials from Saudi Arabia.

“The most important question here is how to get more contracts for Saudi companies. We must get a share of the rebuilding job,” Al-Jeraisy added.

Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Zamil, president of the Export Development Center, said Saudi Arabia, being Iraq’s closest neighbor, could serve as a supply center for rebuilding materials, food and whatever else the Iraqi market would need.