As troops leave, Iraq wants surge of AmericanbusinessCONTINUED...

As the United States completes its withdrawal of all
military forces from Iraq by the end of the month,
Iraq's prime minister made a pitch to leaders of
American commerce and industry Tuesday: Iraq is
open for business.
In an address to American executives at the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Iraqi Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki said his country offers
"limitless" opportunities for American companies.
Al-Maliki said his country is trying to diversify from
an energy-dominated economy, to one that focuses
on financial, medical, agricultural, educational and
infrastructure services as well.
The end of U.S. military operations in Iraq heralds the
beginning of a "wider relationship" between the two
countries where "not generals but businessmen" will
focus on economic and political engagement
between the two countries, al-Maliki told the
audience. He spoke to more than 400 executives
representing a wide range of industries including
petroleum, engineering and construction, commercial
aviation, architecture, maritime cargo and financial
services.
As U.S. investment in Iraq has increased since 2008,
al-Maliki said Iraq wants to see a much greater
presence of U.S. companies in his country to help
spur greater spending and investment on the
country's infrastructure as a way to better the lives
of Iraqis and create more U.S. jobs in the process.
Total foreign direct investment in Iraq hit $70 billion
for the first months of 2011, according to the
chamber. The United States has increased its
investment from nearly nearly $2 billion in 2010 to
more than $8 billion this year, the organization said.
That figure represents 11.6% of all investment
entering Iraq, the chamber said.
The International Monetary Fund has projected the
Iraqi economy to grow at a faster pace than China or
India over the next two to three years.
Despite growing U.S. investment in Iraq, the chamber
continued its own pitch to U.S. businesses of the
potential Iraq represents for them, and American
workers, before al-Maliki spoke.
"We continue to trail our trading partners with
respect to investment and economic engagement in
Iraq," said Lionel Johnson, vice president for Middle
East and North African Affairs at the chamber. The
private sector stands to play a crucial role in filling
the capacity void left in many sectors of the Iraqi
economy following the U.S. military departure,
Johnson said.
Winning business for American firms in Iraq has not
been an easy prospect in the past. Not a single U.S.
energy firm secured a deal for oil production at an
auction of contracts by the Iraqi government two
years ago. Many members of Congress were
outraged, and questioned the U.S. investment in Iraq
to that point after lucrative multi-billion-dollar
contracts went to Russian and Chinese firms instead.