Al Maliki assured Indian investors that his government would create a legal environment that would protect their investments. Citing the long relationship between India and Iraq, he said that Indian companies were extremely committed and would do justice to his country’s invitation to them.
Speaking at an interactive session with Indian business leaders at a forum jointly organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Assocham, Al Maliki assured them that they would not face any administrative issues, since Iraq already had many companies that were active in all sectors.
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Highlighting specific industry sectors, he said opportunities existed in energy, oil exploration and production, refineries, petrochemicals and fertilisers. As far as housing was concerned, Iraq needed a huge number of low-cost houses in order to make up for the destruction suffered as a result of the wars it had faced. There was also an urgent need to invest in electricity.
Although the Iraqi government had started to build electricity plants, whatever electricity it was generating was being consumed by rapid development. The Iraq Prime Minister invited Indian industry to invest and manage electricity plants directly through agreements with his government.
"Iraq also needed reconstruction of its airports, railways and harbours," said Al Malik. He invited India to invest in his country’s transportation needs. Health and education were other sectors where private investment was invited. Although his government had made some progress in this area, they did not want to allocate all rebuilding to the public sector. He hoped that Indian banks would open branches to facilitate the transfer of finances that were needed for Iraq’s reconstruction.