Newsroom

The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Maliki, met the UK Government and international business leaders today at a major conference to discuss investment opportunities in Iraq.

The conference, Invest Iraq 2009, comes on the day the UK military begins its departure from Basra and marks a turning point in UK-Iraqi relations from a military focus to one of trade, investment,co-operation and educational exchange.

International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander, arranged the event to promote new investment and trade opportunities in Iraq,inviting over 200 of the world's biggest companies and prominent figures
from the Iraqi Government.

It is hoped the conference will help establish long-term partnerships between UK, international and Iraqi businesses.

The conference has attracted significant interest from the business world with attendees including Shell, BA, BP, GlaxoSmithKline, Vodafone, Rolls Royce and JP Morgan.

The interest shown is further recognition of the transformation in Iraq with improvements in security over the last year creating a more stable economic environment.

The conference also marks the culmination of the Department for International Development's (DFID) efforts to promote investment, which has resulted in proposals worth up to USD $10 billion.

Speaking at the conference Douglas Alexander said:

'Today is an historic day in UK-Iraq relations as the military-led phase of our engagement in Iraq ends, and we look to a future based on close economic and cultural ties. This shift has only been possible due to the hard work and sacrifices of both the UK military and civilians over the last 6 years, and our Iraqi partners.

Huge improvements have taken place, and are continuing to take place across Iraq, and the Iraqi people are now looking to the future with sense of optimism. But the country needs more international investment to generate jobs and economic growth - which will be key to setting Iraq on the path towards long term prosperity.

There are exciting opportunities not only in oil but in many sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, telecoms and services. The range of companies attending today's conference shows just how much interest there is and I hope we will see new and increasing investment over the coming years.'