Positive Trend under Adverse Circumstances

Germany is one of Iraq's most important trade partners, but the kidnapping of two German engineers in the country shows that investment currently holds risks. A German-Iraqi trade conference tried to boost confidence. By Martina Sabra

Numerous businessmen, journalists, and government representatives from Germany and Iraq traveled to German at the beginning of February to attend the second annual conference of the German-Iraqi medium-sized business association "Midan." The business conference was attended by many high-ranking officials and businessmen.

Despite the threatening security situation and the current kidnappings – it is still worthwhile for German companies to invest in Iraq, at least in the Kurdish North. Representatives of the Iraqi president and the North Rhine Westphalian economic minister opened the annual conference of the German-Iraqi medium-sized business conference "Midan" with this message.

Greeting from the President

"We see Germany as an important partner for reconstruction in Iraq," claimed the welcoming remarks from Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, which were conveyed to the conference by Barasan Hamassu.

Tarik Rashid, general director in the Iraq-Kurdistan Ministry of the Interior, asked German participants at the conference not to let themselves be frightened off by the daily news coming out of Iraq. The security situation in the north is stable, and overall the crime rate is low.

Helmar Schaps, deputy secretary in the North Rhine Westphalian Ministry of Economic Affairs, also exhorted participants not to become discouraged. The kidnapping of the two German technicians in Iraq is sad and distressing. "But precisely for this reason we need talks like these to bring the two countries together."

A shortage of partners with know-how

Approximately 120 businessmen from Iraq and 60 from Germany participated in the Iraqi-German conference for medium-sized companies, which was again held in Cologne with the theme "Baghdad on the Rhine." There were nearly ten times as many participants than at the first Midan conference one year ago. "We have everything: raw material, cheap labor. What we lack are strong partners with technical know-how," explained an architect from Iraq-Kurdistan.

The German participants were mostly representatives from the building industry, but there were also providers of medical equipment, water treatment and solar energy technology. Business consultants and lawyers were also present. Some were taking advantage of the Midan conference to inform themselves about possibilities in general and to establish their first personal contacts with Iraqi businessmen.

"I've worked for seven years in Turkey and Egypt and want to export office communications equipment to Iraq", explained a business consultant and trader from southern Germany. Others want to consolidate existing business relationships and sound out possibilities for expansion.

German companies in Iraq

The German participants at the conference consistently agreed on one point: Traveling to Iraq right now was out of the question: "I stop five kilometers before the border," said one plant engineer.

According to official figures, around 1,500 German companies are currently engaged in Iraq, 500 of them from North Rhine Westphalia. In addition to large corporations such as Siemens, the construction companies Züblin and Hochtief, and the power plant manufacturer Heinkel, numerous medium-sized companies are also present in Iraq.

Overall German-Iraqi trade relations are still labile, but the trend is upward. Exports in 2004 increased by 80 percent to 370 million euros, reaching the prewar level of 2002. In 2005, however, German exports and investment are said to have declined slightly.

The organizer and chairman of "Midan", Gelan Khulusi, regards the conference of medium-sized companies in Cologne as a success. But he had hoped for a stronger response from the German side. It is easy to understand that many medium-sized companies do not want to endanger their own people. But they do not have to send their own people immediately into Iraq. "We have German-speaking personnel there: lawyers, business consultants. They can take German companies by the hand."

Martina Sabra

Translated from the German by Nancy Joyce

Qantara.de

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