Ties with Iraq
iht.com
.....Throughout the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, right up to the UN embargo imposed after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, France sold Iraq $25 billion worth of weaponry. Industry sources say French companies still haven't been paid for everything they supplied to Iraq. If Saddam goes, those debts will be a write-off.
The UN embargo hit the volume of French exports but, once the UN oil-for-food program was introduced in 1996, the French share of the Iraqi market became larger than ever as Saddam rewarded the closest thing it had to a Western ally.
A report commissioned by the French Parliament and published in September 2002 put the value of French exports to Iraq since sanctions were eased at $3.5 billion. France's pharmaceutical firms, for example, are well-placed on the Iraqi market - even if their fortunes vary according to the way the political winds are blowing. Industry experts say that in July 2001, when relations with France went through a chilly period, Saddam froze these pharmaceutical companies' contracts. They were unfrozen once diplomatic relations returned to normal.
France still managed to sell Iraq $650 million worth of goods in 2001, more than any other country. The telecommunications firm Alcatel, the engineering company Alstom and Renault's utility vehicle division all made substantial sales. Another car maker, Peugeot, did well in 2000 and 2001. France, unsurprisingly, was the Western country with the largest number of stands at last November's Baghdad Trade Fair..... |
