AMMAN -(Dow Jones)- Iraq's National Investment Commission will host an international conference in London on April 30 to promote investment in Iraq, Iraqi officials said Monday.
They said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and several Iraqi ministers, including the Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani and Finance Minister Bayan Jabor, would present to more than 100 top U.K. and international companies investment projects to upgrade the country's infrastructure, as well as in the oil and industry sectors, which have been hit hard by war and violence.
The two-day meeting, called Invest Iraq, London 2009, will provide information about the sectors for direct foreign investment, organizers said.
The meeting, set up with the support of the U.K. Department for International Development, would also provide one-to-one discussions with Iraqi stakeholders to discuss investment opportunities, they added.
Jabor said late last year that Iraq would need about $400 billion over the next few years to rebuild its infrastructure.
Reconstruction has been hampered by insurgent attacks and violence, which have forced many projects to be halted and have diverted funds away from rebuilding into security.
But the improvement in the security situation since the beginning of last year has encouraged international firms, especially those in the oil sector, to start considering projects in Iraq.
To encourage foreign investment, Iraq passed a law in 2006 allowing foreign investors to move in and out of Iraq for the first time.
The law gives Iraqi and foreign investors equal shares in investment projects, except in land ownership.
-By Hassan Hafidh, Dow Jones Newswires; + 962 799 831 831; hassan.hafidh@ dowjones.com
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