AMMAN, 19 November 2003 — The British government will sponsor a two-day conference in Jordan in December on the reconstruction of war-torn Iraq and business opportunities in the occupied country, according to organizers.
“Iraq, A Nation To be Rebuilt” will be held Dec. 9-10 and attended by more than 400 delegates, including British and Iraqi officials and members of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, the organizers said on their website.
The event is sponsored by the British government in association with the Middle East Association (MEA), which promotes trade and investment between Britain and the Middle East, and the Risk Advisory Group, one of Europe’s leading independent investigation and intelligence consultancies.
“British companies will be offered a unique opportunity to gain crucial insights into investing in the new Iraq and meet leading players,” a statement on the Internet said. During the conference experts, including British and US members of the Iraq coalition as well as Jordanian businessmen and Iraqi officials, will give a “macro level update on Iraq” and means of doing business in Iraq, the statement said.
Because of its proximity to Iraq, Jordan, which has emerged as a key gateway to its war-battered eastern neighbor, has hosted several conferences on the reconstruction drive in Iraq in recent months.
The latest forum comes after the London Times newspaper reported in mid-November that Washington was expected to allow British firms the right to bid for multi-million dollar reconstruction contracts in Iraq. US President George W. Bush was expected to signal the concession, which The Times described as a major shift in policy, during his state visit to Britain. British companies were excluded from the previous round of bidding for the lucrative contracts.
Washington is preparing to award at least 10 contracts worth as much as $15 billion (12.7 billion euros) to rebuild Iraq’s oil, electricity, health water, and other infrastructure within the next three months. The first $2.2 billion of primary contracts were confined to US firms. In October international donors meeting in Spain pledged $33 billion in loans and grants for the reconstruction of Iraq. Britain pledged to give around $900 million by March 2006.
Meanwhile, more than 820 firms from 42 countries have so far applied to take part in the Rebuild Iraq Exhibition to be held in Kuwait and expected to award contracts worth some $50 billion, an official said yesterday.
The exhibition, scheduled for between Jan. 19 and 23, is backed by the Kuwaiti government and the emirate’s business community, said Ahmad Al-Haroun, director of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry.