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Iraq fair draws in bidders for contracts
About 370 companies show up, hoping to win the rights to infrastructure projects.
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published November 12, 2006
SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq - Hundreds of companies from around the world looking for opportunities in Iraq took part Saturday in an international fair in the relatively peaceful Kurdish north. The fair, organized by the Iraqi American chamber of commerce, was inaugurated by Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the regional government. About 370 companies from around the world - including five from the United States, 50 from Germany and 24 from Italy - were taking part in the four-day conference. Most of the companies specialize in infrastructure and construction, badly needed projects that have been held up by Iraq's lack of security and U.N. sanctions before that. Some companies were expected to sign deals with the regional Kurdish government. Unlike much of Iraq, the three Kurdish provinces in the north are tightly controlled by tens of thousands of local militiamen. "Whoever wants to invest in this region is welcome," Barzani said after opening the fair. The executive director of the Iraqi American chamber of commerce, Raad Ammar, said the fair was being held for the second consecutive year in Sulaimaniyah. "This fair shows that reconstruction conference can be held on our land and not abroad so that all Iraqis come and take part," said Ammar, an Arab. Before 1991, a Baghdad fair held annually since 1964 drew exhibitors from about 50 countries.
[Last modified November 12, 2006, 01:42:05]
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