Investment mission from Iraq’s Nineveh visits Istanbul for trade

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

An investment conference organized by a provincial administration from northern Iraq is to be held in Istanbul tomorrow.

Nineveh Investment Commission will hold the “Nineveh 1st International Investment Conference” on May 2 and 3.

Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEİK) and the Iraqi commercial attaché at the Iraqi Embassy in Ankara will provide technical support for conference participants, namely businessmen and Turkish and foreign companies, according to the event’s official website.

“The provincial administrations in Iraq have broad authorities regarding budget allocations. So they organize such an event to promote investment opportunities and attract firms,” Ahmet Yazal, Turkish counsel to Nineveh told the Daily News in phone interview yesterday.

There are investment opportunities in almost all fields, including construction, infrastructure, services, energy, agriculture, tourism and health, he said, adding that security is maintained to a large extent and it is not an obstacle to investments.

Turkey is deemed to be a serious partner in Iraq, according to Yazal. “There is no alternative to Turkish firms in many parts of Iraq where they operate.”

The conference is expected to draw 150 people, including local and central government representatives and businessmen from Iraq including Osama Al-Nujaifi, the president of Iraqi parliament, and Athiel Al-Nujaifi are scheduled to attend the meeting along with the agriculture minister, state ministers and several ministers of the central government.