 |
| Heading to Iraq: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, left, put on a flak jacket in the Amman, Jordan, airport
on Feb. 17 before flying into Iraq. Thomas Koehler/AP |
As war ebbs, Europe returns to Iraq
France and Germany opposed the US-led invasion but are now eyeing new investments in the war-torn country.
from the February 24, 2009 edition
Page 2 of 2
Page 1 | 2
"My coming here is to tell French companies: The time is at hand – come and invest," Sarkozy said during his visit.
The Europeans are clearly getting a warm welcome in Baghdad.
"German companies won't have to undertake any special efforts in order to establish themselves here," Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said. "They used to be very active here and enjoy a fine reputation."
Europe's involvement in Iraq during the Saddam Hussein-era spanned French investment in Iraq's oil industry and German engineering products as well as huge loans to the Iraqi government. France, Russia, and China were the main foreign investors in Iraq's oil industry under Mr. Hussein. Business and political ties suffered after the United Nations-imposed economic sanctions on Iraq and in the wake of the US-led invasion. Both France and Germany were among the main Paris Club lenders that agreed, after the ousting of Hussein's government, to forgive 80 percent of the $39 billion in Iraq's foreign debt owed to Paris Club members.
European businesses have not been waiting for their political leaders to rebuild bridges with Baghdad. In December, Iraq announced that it had awarded German engineering giant Siemens AG a €1.5 billion contract to provide 16 gas- and oil-fired turbines for electric-power stations being built in Rumaila-Basra, Taza-Kirkuk, Dibis-Kirkuk, Baiji, and Sadder-Baghdad.
The Iraqi government has also reopened its oil industry to foreign investment and begun talks with the French company Total as well as the Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell to develop five new oil fields in northern and southern Iraq. The Iraqis are also talking to US oil companies Chevron and ExxonMobil about the development.
The Iraqi government is also opening the door to Russia and China, whose energy companies had received concessions to produce oil from Hussein. And Iran, a longtime rival of Iraq, is drilling nine oil wells north of Baghdad.
With its focus now shifting toward Afghanistan, and the troubled legacy of the Bush administration in Iraq, Washington may not have much choice but to welcome the flood of assistance pouring into Iraq from countries that were opposed to the US-led war.
With Mr. Bush's exit, the last of the wartime leaders who locked horns over Iraq has left the political stage. That could open new opportunities for dialogue within NATO about a broader Mideast strategy in which the US and Europe understand that each have genuine interests in resolving problems in the region.
"The Europeans have not had a genuine interest in Iraq in the past," says Steinberg. "They have seen Iraq as a function of the transatlantic relationship and that was a mistake."
1 | Page 2
RSS feed
