H.E. Mr. Sharif Al Zu'bi, the Minister of Industry and Trade, opened the 3rd International Rebuild Iraq Conference entitled 'Doing Business in Iraq'. IFP in collaboration with The American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan (AmCham Jordan) is hosting one of the most unique and important Conferences ever held in Jordan uniting leading decision makers and business people at the InterContinental Hotel.
Mr. Albert Aoun, President of the IFP Group, welcomed the audience at the opening session of the Conference, thanking Jordan for hosting both the Exhibition and the Conference. He pointed to the role of His Majesty King Abdullah and his Government in supporting the reconstruction as well as highlighting the role of Jordan as the gateway to Iraq. International companies working in Iraq now consider Amman as the central to successful operations.
Mr. Azzam Shweihat, President of AmCham in Amman, said "This conference is considered the biggest in the reconstruction of Iraq". He stressed the importance of Jordan's role and the assets it can utilize during the reconstruction process including its strategic location, its developed logistics and stable investment environment providing many opportunities for trade and communication with Iraq. He pointed to the free trade agreements that Jordan holds with the USA and Europe and development of specialist Industrial and Free Zone areas before asking for international involvement and support of the Iraqi business community."
Mr. Sharif Al Zo'bi, Jordan's Minister of Industry and trade said "Jordan was, and still is, giving huge attention to the reconstruction of Iraq at all levels in different political and economic sectors. A recent example is the modernization of the Jordan/Iraq border crossing to ease transportation between our two countries. In addition, Mr. Zo'bi highlighted that Jordan is Iraq's second largest partner, after the USA, for co-operation in the health, finance, training and servicing sectors. He concluded by stating that success in Iraq will result in success for Jordan.
Mr. Osama Najafi, the Iraqi Minister of Trade and Industry, asked the international companies to play a larger role inside Iraq through sharing common goals and creating partnerships to tender for business. He cited the recent announcement for 19 new factories required in the cement industry. He added that the priority for the Iraqi Government is to improve the investment environment by completing logistic and legal frameworks to support this. He said "The economic issue will become a higher priority in the next stages of Iraq's development."
The Iraqi Minister of Construction and Housing, Mr. Jasem Ja'far, followed "There is a strategic plan to establish roads, bridges, housing, airports, roads, subways and bridges in Iraq. Work is currently underway on 520 projects at a cost of almost $1billion USD and another 26 new projects totaling $403million USD. One million housing units will be built during the coming few years in addition to road network improvements costing $15 billion USD." He continued by asking the international companies to speed up their involvement by participating in tenders either directly or through Iraqi companies.
Ms. Nirmeen Uthman, the Iraqi Environment Minister, pointed to the fall in the environmental conditions in Iraq as a result of the current situation, especially in the water sector, and highlighted the need for new projects to address this issue.
The American Ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Zalmay Khalil Zad, invited the business sector to Iraq describing it as the ideal time as the economy is expected to achieve 10% growth this year. He pointed to the abundant natural and human resources available including the world's second largest proven reserves of oil. He also highlighted that the new Iraqi Government will work toward achieving the security which will drive Iraq to develop a thriving business and investment environment.
More than 60 speakers including international and economic experts are participating in the Conference highlighting the business and investment needs and opportunities in Iraq. Additionally, over 450 delegates will be contributing to discussion of the current situation in Iraq and hearing of the Iraqi Government priorities and plans for the construction process.
Rose Wazani, the CEO of "This Conference is considered to be the largest in this field due to the number of Iraqi and international participants who have been attracted here". She added "This conference will work over the two days to introduce a clear understanding of the current economic and investment situation in Iraq in so that companies will be able to understand Iraqi needs for reconstruction and the business opportunities available.
The 3rd Rebuild Iraq Conference will be 'sector specific' and focus on information that is directly relevant to delegates. The Conference program starts with a 'Business Environment Update' and 'Jordan as a Gateway to Iraq' before moving on to 'Sector Specific Opportunities' during which each of the delegates will be able to interact with the expert panels in extensive Q&A sessions.
The conference sessions are handling many subjects surrounding the reconstruction of Iraq including the private sector's role in water resources, the transportation sector and the wider infrastructure. Sessions will also discuss Jordan's role as a gateway to Iraq and some of the Worksheets discussed will promote the investment promotion and other important subjects."
This Conference is being held concurrently with the 3rd International Rebuild Iraq Exhibition which is held with the participation of 1,025 companies from 46 countries in addition to 38 official trade organisations in participating in national booths. The Exhibition, which spans more than 60,000 square meters, is being held at the Abdali Development Project area in the centre of Jordan's Capital Amman and is expected to welcome more than 5,000 Iraqi visitors and host more than 1,000 International visitors.
