Jordan Times
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
3rd International
Rebuild Iraq Exhibition to be held in May
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — Hundreds of companies from fifty
countries are expected to take part in the 3rd International Rebuild Iraq
Exhibition scheduled here for the second week of May.
“The conference has received the support of several national, Arab and foreign
institutions and agencies,” International Fairs and Promotion Group (IFPG)
President Albert Aoun told a press conference on Tuesday.
According to Aoun, the conference will help accelerate the reconstruction of
Iraq and provide international suppliers with the opportunity to take part in
the rebuilding process of Jordan's eastern neighbour.
“The exhibition will pave the way for meetings between businesspeople from all
over the world to discuss various means for the reconstruction of Iraq in
different fields,” Aoun said.
He added that the rehabilitation of Iraq and the development of its oil,
infrastructure, healthcare, IT, education, communication, housing and other
sectors will require tens of billions of dollars; thus providing a good
opportunity for the businesspeople to display what they have during the fair.
On the sidelines of the fair, an international conference on business in Iraq
will be held on May 9-10. Several ministers, businesspeople, economists and
bankers from different world countries will take part in the event, Aoun noted.
Fadi Kaddoura, IFP project director, said: “This year's exhibition has received
an overwhelming and unprecedented official support from 46 government
organisations and trade commissions from more than 36 countries.”
“Initial indicators show that the number of exhibitors and the exhibition space
will be 15-20 per cent larger than those in 2005,” Kaddoura said.
To ensure a high visitor turnout, the organisers of the fair will conduct
promotion and media campaigns reaching out to the largest number of leading
professionals and traders in Iraq and across the region, he indicated.
According to Kaddoura, new countries, which missed the 2005 event, will take
part this year. The countries are France, Japan, Brazil, Denmark, Taiwan, Hong
Kong and Luxembourg.
Businesses taking part in the event include construction, gas and oil,
electricity, telecommunications, agriculture and food, health and environment,
hospitality, packaging and printing, education, industrial machinery, security
and IT, among others.
Baha Armouti, a representative from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, stressed
the ministry's support for the exhibition saying that the government continues
to facilitate the organisation of fairs as part of the efforts to accelerate the
rebuilding of Iraq, especially in light of the close ties between the Kingdom
and Iraq and due to the geographical location of Jordan, which is a gate for the
Iraqi markets.