A delegation of 19 Czech politicians and professionals visited Iraq last week in order to boost trade between the two countries and support a politically unstable Middle East country on its road to economic and commercial viability.
The Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic organized the delegation, which included representatives of the Industry and Trade Ministry and the heads of several Czech companies that do business in Iraq. The trip was aimed at promoting Czech exports to Iraq as well as offering support to Iraq's burgeoning commercial sector. The country's exports to Iraq totaled 731 million Kč in 2008 and grew 87 percent in the first seven months of 2009, according to the Industry and Trade Ministry, signaling the great potential of the emerging market, said Deputy Trade Minister Martin Tlapa.
"There is huge potential in Iraq, but also huge competition - and not just from Europe," he told The Prague Post. "We are proud our delegation was one of the largest from the EU in several months, and we think the Czech Republic has an advantage of doing business in Iraq because of our long, shared business history."
Iraq ranks 41st on the list of EU member states' major trade partners, with 9.1 billion euros ($13.5 billion/240.5 billion Kč) worth of exports to the Middle East country in 2008. The Czech Republic has the advantage of trade history with Iraq, as Czechoslovakia was a big exporter of agricultural equipment like tractors to Iraq, and such cooperation has continued since the fall of communism. The recent visit represented not only a continued Czech commitment to the country, but a new beginning as well, said Majid Toma, the Confederation of Industry in the Czech Republic's project manager for the Middle East and North Africa, who organized the delegation.
"Many Iraqis know Czech products, especially because thousands of Czech tractors were being exported to Iraq since the 1960s," he said. "In 2004, we sent a business delegation to Iraq, and we felt it was important for Czech companies to show their support again after five years. We want to offer our technology and know-how to Iraqi businesses."
The four-day visit included meetings with Iraqi Industry and Minerals Minister Fawzi Hariri, Oil Minister Hussein Al Shahristani and Sami al-Araji, chairman of Iraq's National Investment Commission in Baghdad, as well as talks with the Kurdistan Regional Government. Several Czech companies were represented, including Chemoprojekt and Technoexport, both of which have contributed significantly to Iraq's infrastructure. The firms were able to make concrete progress in their trade relations with Iraq during the visit by coming to agreements on updated oil refinery equipment.
"There were agreements worth about $100 million signed between companies for the modernization of refineries and water treatment plants, and there are other agreements awaiting approval," Tlapa said.
The Czech delegation arrived the day after two car bombs exploded near government ministries in Baghdad, killing 150 people. The timing of the trip highlighted one of the most significant challenges to doing business in Iraq, said Tlapa, who added the decision not to cancel the trip was a "very significant" sign to their hosts.
"It is true there are security limitations for doing business in Iraq, but we wanted to show that European member states are interested despite the instability there," he said. "The best-case scenario would be to have stability and security for business in Iraq, which will hopefully be realized after the January elections."
Besides security, the most significant roadblocks for Czech companies doing business in Iraq have been of a more prosaic nature, Tlapa said.
"Reports say Iraqi companies are willing to pay and are paying on time; the only delay is between interbank connections, which we'd like to improve," he said. "So we talked about how to improve the financial lines between banks, which should speed up lines of credit and payments."
The Czech delegation did not have much time to travel as tourists, but Tlapa related some of the local color, which shed light both on Iraq's troubled past and the promise of its economic future.
"One thing that was impressive was the number of damaged monuments to Saddam Hussein, which helped us feel the atmosphere of the formal political situation," he said. "Twenty years after the changes in the Czech Republic, it's important to remember the situation in Iraq was much more difficult. Our visit is a symbol of the help we want to offer this country to get back on track with the commercial and politically developed countries of the world."