Jordan Times
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Amman to host Iraq reconstruction fair
AMMAN (AFP) — More than 750 participants from 30 countries are expected to participate in a major fair to be held here in April to meet Iraqi businessmen seeking to rebuild the war-wracked country, organisers said Monday.
Rebuild Iraq 2005 is aimed at providing international firms a “safe and ideal venue to present their products and transfer the much needed technology to Iraqi businessmen,” a statement said.
The fair is being organised by the Beirut-based IFP Group and the Saudi Riyadh Exhibition Company on April 4-7 and will include a two-day conference on doing business with Iraq.
Industry and Trade Minister Ahmad Hindawi said Jordan was hosting the event for the second consecutive year because “Jordan has always been Iraq's main trading partner” through which most goods transit to Iraq. “Jordan is the gateway to Iraq,” Hindawi said in a statement read on his behalf at a press conference. Firms and government organisations from Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East will participate in the trade fair to tap the lucrative and huge reconstruction effort in Iraq. “Soaring demand for materials and technology in key sectors of the Iraqi economy may well exceed $150 billion in the long-term,” the statement by the organisers indicated. “In the medium-term $60-$70 billion will be needed to rebuild the country,” it noted. The United States has allocated $18.6 billion for reconstruction projects in Iraq while international donors committed a further $33 billion.