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Official: Israelis should invest in Kurdistan-Iraq
16.3.2007
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March 16, 2007
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates , -- A U.S.
defense official on Thursdayencouraged Israelis to
pump investments into Iraq's devastated economy.
Paul Brinkley, U.S. deputy undersecretary of defense
for business transformation, told a business
conference here that Israelis were welcome in a
country crying out for investment.
"Israeli business people, any business people, we
would encourage them to come," said Brinkley,
speaking on the sidelines of a conference aimed at
spurring investment into Kurdistan (Iraq's northern
Kurdish-ruled region). Brinkley leads the task force
charged with invigorating Iraqi industry.
"If they find business opportunities, as I think
they will, we encourage them to reach out and engage
their Iraqi business partners," he said.
Israel is believed to maintain discreet ties to
Kurdish groups, including those in Iraq, although
Kurdish officials in the country deny such links. |
Mr. Paul Brinkley, US Deputy Under Secretary of
Defense for Business Transformation |
Earlier this month, Brinkley said he organized a
business networking mission last month in which the
U.S. Army airlifted 43 international businesspeople
around the country in Black Hawk helicopters to meet
Iraqi business leaders.
The aim of the visit was to provide expertise to the
Iraqi government on how to revive state-run
factories and other enterprises and put more Iraqis
back to work. The U.S. military believes the move
would help calm violence in the region.
In a speech at the conference, Brinkley compared the
northern Kurdistan region to the stagnant
Asia-Pacific region in the early 1990s just before
its economic boom.
The Dubai conference is part of the U.S. strategy to
use private investment to replace U.S. taxpayer
funding for Iraq's economic revival. The current
plan calls for upgrading Iraqi manufacturing and
agribusiness enterprises to meet the demands of the
domestic market.
In time, those enterprises may be able to expand to
international markets if the security situation
improves.
"Security and investment is a bit of a chicken and
egg situation," said Robert Pingeon, Amman-based
president of Mestre Associates, a consultancy for
large infrastructure companies.
"It can't be secure until you get people to work"
but a lack of security scares international
companies away.
"We're taking a risk because we feel you've got to
break this cycle," Pingeon said.
Although much of Iraq remains in turmoil, security
in the three Kurdish-run provinces is much better
and the region offers better opportunities for
investment.
Thirty-five million ethnic Kurds live in the region
straddling Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. They are
the largest ethnic group in the world without a
national homeland, although Iraqi Kurds have enjoyed
self-rule (Kurdistan region) in the north since
1991.
This is the second Iraq business conference in
Dubai. During the first, U.S. Agency for
International Development reported that startup
negotiations were held, but reported no investments
from the oil-rich Emirates, flush with cash from a
few years of high oil prices.
AP
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