German Companies Get Serious about Iraq

[charrison]

Linkage

As the reconstruction of Iraq begins in earnest, Germany?s small and mid-sized companies prepare to reestablish old business ties in Baghdad and beyond.

As rebuilding efforts in Iraq begin in earnest despite a deteriorating security situation, leaders of Germany?s small to medium-sized companies are increasing their focus on Iraq and the possibility of once again doing business in the Mideast country.

Instead of focusing on major infrastructure projects largely controlled by the United States, which are largely going to American conglomerates like California-based engineering giant Bechtel, German companies are focusing on reestablishing their old ties. They have good reason to: Before Iraq fell under a United Nations embargo in 1990, Germany was one of its top trading partners.

In 1982, Germany exported ?4 billion worth of products to Iraq. And even during the embargo, when contracts for exports and services were controlled by the UN, German companies still exporting ?400 million ($436 million) worth of products each year.

Finding ways to retap that once lucrative market will be the subject of a major conference in Bonn on Sept. 2 organized by the Chambers of Industry and Commerce of a handful of major western German cities. Representatives from around 100 companies will converge at the meeting to consider both the opportunities for and obstacles to opening shop in a country that has been cut off from the world for the greater part of the last 13 years.

Restoring old ties

Dorothea Gelan Khulusi -- who runs the Association of Iraqi Businesses, an organization in Germany that represents close to 400 medium-sized companies in Iraq ? will be a major player at the conference, offering advice from the Iraqi point of view to German companies at the conference

Is this what a quagmire looks like?

 

[sandorski]

Short answer: yes. This doesn't really have anything to do with Quagmire or not Quagmire, a quagmire is a separate thing.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: sandorski
Short answer: yes. This doesn't really have anything to do with Quagmire or not Quagmire, a quagmire is a separate thing.

It seems it becoming stable enough to conduct trade. If it is in fact a quagmire, it would prove very difficult to get people to go over to iraq and work.

 

[sandorski]

The are merely discussing trade opportunities, they have yet to conduct it.

There have already been US business gatherings discussing Trade with Cuba covering Opportunities and what not. However, discussing such things deos not mean they will happen.

 

[rchiu]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: sandorski
Short answer: yes. This doesn't really have anything to do with Quagmire or not Quagmire, a quagmire is a separate thing.

It seems it becoming stable enough to conduct trade. If it is in fact a quagmire, it would prove very difficult to get people to go over to iraq and work.

eh....UN bombing that killed the top UN official in Iraq was less than 10 days ago....maybe you should wait a little longer before you can declare Iraq is stable.