Iraq plans an international trade fair in December that should attract hundreds of Western companies eager to take part in post-war reconstruction, the country's de facto trade minister says.
Mr Yousif al-Ani said the annual fair, the first since the US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein's government four months ago, is being held a month later than usual because of war damage to the premises.
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"We have sent invitations to hundreds of companies and many countries asking them to take part. I expect many of them to participate because Iraq is heading towards a free market," he told Reuters in an interview.
Mr al-Ani said the ministry had started rebuilding the trade fair premises, which was bombed during the war and looted and set on fire after Saddam was toppled.
"We are planning to hold the Baghdad international fair on the first of December instead of November," he said.
At the last Baghdad trade fair, in November 2002, 1,200 firms from 49 Arab and European countries took part. No US or British firms participated.
Iraq, a booming market for Western business before the 1991 Gulf War, has the world's largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia.