US Deputy Under Secretary of Defence leads delegation at Iraq Defence, Security & Communications Summit

Mr Brinkley will lead a senior delegation to meet with key contractors and discuss potential commercial opportunities within Iraq.

The summit will also welcome representatives from the Joint Contracting Command Iraq (JCC-I), the Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) and the US Embassy Baghdad.

The summit, the purpose of which is to provide the opportunity for officials to meet with the private sector to discuss commercial and technical solutions, looks set to be hugely successful, with strong ministerial delegations confirmed from the Iraqi Ministries of Defence, Interior, National Security Affairs, Communications and Science & Technology, as well as their counterparts from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The official Iraqi delegations will be led by H.E. Abdul Qadir Obeidi, Minister of Defence, H.E. Shirwan Al-Waili, Minister of National Security Affairs and H.E. Raid Jahid Fahmi, Minister of Science & Technology, with all ministerial delegations including deputies and senior director generals.

The Iraq Development Program has built its reputation through the implementation of a successful format whereby half of the summit time is devoted to speeches and presentations and the other half devoted to one-to-one meetings.

Each Minister will speak during the opening ceremony on 16 February, providing the assembled audience with an overview of their respective Ministry's strategy and requirements, while the second day will see specific sessions focused on private security, defence technology and communications infrastructure. Meanwhile, the afternoons on both days of the summit (16-17 February) will see private roundtables set up for each Ministry, as well as the attending authorities representing the US Government.

Prior to the summit, confirmed sponsors and delegates will have the opportunity to schedule their preferred meetings with the respective officials to ensure their time at the summit is fully maximised.