Visiting Iraqi Minister of Interior Falah Hassan al-Naqib said Iraq hopes to become a safer haven for foreign direct investment (FDI) after restoration of security by next summer, local Khaleej Times reported Thursday.

"We are currently working on this issue and hopefully, by the end of next summer, Iraq will be a safe place, attracting a lot of foreign investment. That is our target," Nagib told the daily afterarriving here Wednesday.

The Iraqi minister also revealed that a business conference named "Gateway to Iraq - Exhibition, Business and Investors Summit"will be held in Dubai, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from June 13-16, 2005.

The summit will focus on Iraq's reconstruction and economic development program, creating awareness of the vast investment and trade potential in the country.

"There is a lot of potential in Iraq and good investment opportunities for the UAE. We welcome all the countries from the region as long as there are opportunities. We will try to provide all the facilities for the countries to invest," Nagib said.

Mohammad al-Ghabban, organizer of the summit, said it would be anetworking event that would allow participants to discuss joint ventures to rebuild Iraq and present the trade and investment potential in Iraq to the rest of the world.

It will also provide global companies a better understanding of the business prospects in Iraq and how they can offer their products and services to Iraqi companies and subcontractors, he added.

Statistics show that there are some 350 Iraqi companies at the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai as bilateral trade between the UAE andIraq reached 1.1 billion US dollars in 2003.

Source: Xinhua