US Department of Defence announced as official event partner for Iraq Investment Summit

The summit, which takes place in Dubai on 19-20 April 2008, will welcome US Deputy Undersecretary of Defence for Business Transformation Paul Brinkley, who will be attending with a team of senior advisors. Deputy Undersecretary Brinkley leads the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations in Iraq, which works to revitalise the Iraqi industrial economy. The Task Force has been working in partnership with the Government of Iraq to restore production in Iraqi industry and to facilitate private direct investment, global supply agreements, and joint ventures in Iraq.

This follows the decision by Minister of Industry & Minerals Fawzi Hariri to open up Iraq's state owned industries to the global market. This will allow international companies the opportunity to be joint venture partners, as Iraq begins its journey from centrally planned economy to regional economic powerhouse.

Such partnerships and production sharing agreements will play a leading role in Iraq's industrial rehabilitation. Over 40 of the country's most productive and lucrative state owned enterprises (SOEs) are now looking to enter into such agreements, having been given the go-ahead by the Ministry.

A senior delegation of Iraqi officials will be travelling to Dubai to sign agreements with operators and investors for these opportunities. The delegation will be led by the Minister and will feature the leading director generals responsible for Iraq's six primary industrial sectors of petrochemicals, food and pharmaceuticals, construction, engineering, industrial services and textiles, as well as the individual DGs responsible for the attending SOEs.

Participation is strongly recommended for all international operators, the summit providing one of the first opportunities to participate in the development of Iraq's largest non-oil sectors and sign memorandums of understanding and letters of intent.

The summit will follow a meetings-based format, where delegates can meet face-to-face with the attending Iraqi officials, carrying out assessments of the respective SOEs. The summit is the only business forum that provides this unique opportunity under the Ministry of Industry & Minerals.