AMMAN, 10 December 2003 — Iraqi interim Finance Minister Kamal Al-Kilani invited businessmen yesterday to help rebuild his country but urged them to see Iraq as more than a “new bonanza”.
“Iraq is open to the world for business but at the same time we caution foreign investors and exporters not to see Iraq merely as a new bonanza,” Kilani told a British-sponsored conference on post-war Iraqi reconstruction in Amman. “The kind of firms that will prosper here are not those with a gold rush mentality but rather those who come to Iraq to build long-term relationships with Iraqis,” Kilani said. “Iraq is emerging from a long nightmare and is ready to do business,” but it will not tolerate “those who put 30 Iraqi firms out of business by setting up here.”
The two-day conference “Iraq, A Nation To Be Rebuilt” is attended by more than 400 delegates, including British, Iraqi and Jordanian officials, as well as members of the US-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad. Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Mohamad Halayka said he hoped delegates would focus on the human needs of the Iraqi people and not just on securing business partnerships.
“I hope that when we talk about the reconstruction of Iraq we can understand first the human needs of the Iraqi people (who) do not have access to quality basic needs,” Halayka said.
The head of the British office in Baghdad, Christopher Segar, said he hoped the conference would help British businessmen tap into the wealth of reconstruction projects in Iraq.
“There is still a lot of concern that large amounts of American government money voted for the reconstruction of Iraq are difficult for British firms and firms of other countries to access,” Segar said.
Reports in the British press said in November that Washington was expected to allow British firms the right to bid for multi-million dollar reconstruction contracts in Iraq in a major shift in policy.
British companies were excluded from the previous round of bidding for the lucrative contracts, which have been so far confined to US firms.
In October international donors meeting in Spain pledged $33 billion in loans and grants for the reconstruction of Iraq, with Britain promising to give around around $900 million by March 2006.
The Amman conference, the first such event sponsored by the British government, is the latest in a series of forums held in Jordan, which is being touted as the “gateway” for business in neighboring Iraq.
With commercial passenger flights to Iraq grounded for security reasons, Jordan is a key stop on the way to Baghdad and a hub for most of the humanitarian assistance destined for its war-battered neighbor.
While doing business was on everyone’s mind in Amman, so was the lawlessness that still prevails in Iraq.
“As people become more confident and understanding of the reality of the security situation there, the opportunities for business increase,” the director of Risk Advisory Group, Chris O’Donoghue, told AFP.
His firm, one of Europe’s leading independent investigation and intelligence consultancies, is organizing the event along with the Middle East Association, which promotes trade and investment between Britain and the region. For Abbas Shamara, a businessman and member of the Baghdad Chamber of Commerce, the conference is essential to help the Iraqi people reconnect with the world community.
“Iraq has a lot of human resources. For years we were cut off from the outside world but now we see the light at the end of the tunnel and we are very pleased,” Shamara told AFP.
“But of course it will not be easy to get things done overnight; it will take and we have to be patient,” he said.
