IBN Interviews Dr Ali al-Dabbagh - Part 2

AD: You should not ignore that we are in a transitional stage … but at the same time you should not forget that we have great opportunities; Iraq is an attractive place to do business even though there are inefficiencies – legislation, arbitration, insurance – all of these related things where we are in the early stages, but again with the current situation in the region and globally I think Iraq represents one of the best places to have proper and selective investment – you could see that in the oil sector – on Sunday there is a workshop in Amman to highlight on the fourth bidding round – and there are possibilities in mining being discussed here in London. The mining and mineral sector is untouched, is a virgin sector and certainly is a promising sector. The housing sector, the electricity sector, all these represent the best opportunities in the region.

Keep in mind that the region is facing tremendous changes ... Iraq with its own problems and difficulties represents I think one of the best places in the region.

IBN: Do you have any specific targets regarding, for example, the Transparency International index for corruption, and how you would see things improving on those sorts of metrics?

AD: I don't deny that corruption represents one of the big headaches for us, but again there is a lack of legislation, a lack of the tools needed in order to protect the country from these elements. We are improving, but I think it is a slow improvement. We do need more effort, and corruption always is a function of political incompetency, and we have political problems in Iraq … which definitely will be reflected. All the measures being taken will not work unless there is a proper political atmosphere which could help all the institutions to fight the corruption.

IBN: Regarding trade in general, do you think that the Iraqi dinar is at a reasonable level at the moment, or should it be allowed to float and perhaps appreciate over time?