U.S. Opens Economic Council on Rebuilding Iraq
Reuters
Monday, June 9, 2003; 3:31 PM
By Michael Georgy
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A U.S.-led economic council trying to steer Iraq out of postwar chaos and poverty met for the first time Monday to discuss how to create jobs and attract desperately needed foreign investment.
Paul Bremer, head of the civil administration running Iraq, oversaw the talks with 30 members of the private sector, Iraqi political parties and the International Monetary Fund.
He told a news conference several proposals for creating jobs and attracting foreign capital to oil-rich Iraq were discussed, but he did not provide details.
Iraq's economy was already wrecked by years of stringent U.N. sanctions before U.S. and British troops invaded the country and toppled President Saddam Hussein.
Since then, many Iraqis have complained that they have not been paid. Basic services such as water and electricity collapsed in the mayhem.
The oil industry, the backbone of the economy, has been plagued by looters and saboteurs, but has the potential to make the country rich.
Asked to name one project that has generated employment for Iraqis, Bremer said: "One of the things that is already creating jobs is the fact that we are paying salaries to almost two million civil servants.
"We plan to finish the process of paying the back salaries from April this week and then we will commence right away to pay the May and June salaries. This process will put, over a period of three months, almost $500 million into the economy."
Bremer said reconstructing ministries, many of which were bombed and looted during the war, was key to reviving the economy, which was dominated by the state under Saddam.
Many Iraqis are deeply suspicious of U.S. intentions and believe the war was waged for oil, not to find weapons of mass destruction or stop human rights abuses.
Rebuilding Iraq will require billions of dollars in foreign investment. The talks focused on the construction industry, which is poised for big contracts in Iraq -- which have so far gone largely to U.S. companies.
Bremer said several suggestions were made on amending laws and tax rates, and proposals were put forward on the percentage of ownership which might be allowed for foreigners.
"If the Iraqi economy is to grow in the future it will be on the back of a vibrant private sector. That will mean attracting foreign investment and mobilizing domestic capital," he said.
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