Iraq's Allawi due in Russia for oil and debt talks

[Jerry]

Iraqi Premier Iyad Allawi arrives Monday in Russia for the first time since taking office six months ago with hopes of ending the row over Moscow's oil contracts with Saddam Hussein's regime.

The U.S.-backed Allawi is to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin when he returns from Turkey, and both sides said the talks would focus on future economic prospects rather than the diplomatic bitterness over the war....

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=10708

[Jerry]

Commerce chamber will invite companies to explore opportunities

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Monday, December 06, 2004


GENEVA: A team of Iraqi businessmen is visiting Switzerland and Austria to encourage companies such as Nestle to invest in Iraq, insisting that the violence there will stop after elections at the end of January....


"We believe that in two months' time ... security must prevail in Iraq." Since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Iraq's economy has finally opened up to the world, enabling Iraqi assets to flow freely, the commerce chief said
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=10705

[Jerry]

By Agence France Presse (AFP)

Monday, December 06, 2004

The GCC, which is comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), began a customs union in January 2003.

In their bid to establish a monetary union in 2005, a common market in 2007 and a single currency at the start of 2010, the GCC states have agreed on several key criteria to bring their economic and fiscal policies closer....

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=10706

[Jerry]

It would be impossible to hold elections in Iraq in January if the situation remains as precarious as it is, U.N. adviser Lakhdar Brahimi told a Dutch newspaper in an interview published on Saturday.

SyriaTimes ‏

first ‏

5-12-2004 ‏
http://www.teshreen.com/syriatimes/_first.asp?FileName=20041205043250

[Jerry]

Abu Dhabi: Lieutenant General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince, yesterday received Abdul Aziz Al Hakim, chairman of the Iraqi Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution and member of the Iraqi National Council, who is visiting the UAE.

He said Iraq is currently going through a delicate but crucial situation which needs the concerted efforts of all its loyal citizens, in addition to the support of the international community to assist in the establishment of a system that will help all Iraqi people achieve their aspirations and enable the country regain its proper place at the Arab and international levels.....

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/NationNF.asp?ArticleID=142515

[Jerry]

Alan P. Larson, the Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business, and Agricultural Affairs, provides an useful overview of the economic situation in Iraq before and after the liberation:


"In 1979 Iraq had a per capita living standard on a par with Italy. By the fall of Saddam Hussein's government, Iraq had the GDP of an impoverished developing country and had become the most heavily indebted nation in the world. This grim legacy, compounded by a serious security situation, poses big hurdles to economic development.

"Despite these problems, the Iraqis are persevering and succeeding. Iraqi policies made it possible for economic output in the first ten months of 2004 to be 51.7% higher than in 2003. Per capita income in 2004 is projected to be $780, up from approximately $500 in 2003.

"The Iraqi government has set forth a solid medium-term economic plan. The newly independent Central Bank is keeping inflation in check, with the consumer price index rising only 5.7 percent in the first eight months of 2004 compared with 46 percent in 2003. The new dinar has appreciated 27 percent against the dollar in the past year."
Says Larson: "The economic progress Iraqis have achieved so far, under very difficult circumstances, testifies to their competence and courage. This holds especially true for the men and women who make up the new Iraqi government, who, at great personal risk, are busy building their vision of a democratic and free Iraq."

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