Iraq Eyes Malaysian Input In Rebuilding Efforts

By Fadzli Ramli KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 31 (Bernama) -- War-wrecked Iraq is looking to tap into Malaysian expertise as it seeks to rebuild itself, offering Malaysian companies ample investment opportunities in the process. Iraq's Planning Minister Prof Dr Ali Y. Al-Shukri said Baghdad was keen to learn how Malaysia went about developing its infrastructure, economy, education, science and technology as well as administrative capabilities. "We chose Malaysia because this lovely country is one of the best Muslim countries which have developed really well. We want to be like this country," he told Bernama in an interview during a recent visit here. Speaking through an interpreter, Dr Ali said Iraq would also like to take a leaf from Malaysia's town planning and provision of basic infrastructure like electricity and water supply as well as roads. Disclosing that Iraq planned to build 45,000km of road, 150 bridges, 50 universities and other facilities, the minister said Malaysian companies were encouraged to bid for the projects. "We always welcome Malaysian companies wishing to invest in Iraq or form collaborations with the government," Dr Ali said, singling out Malaysian petroleum giant Petronas as a company that could well participate in Iraq's oil and gas sector. He said Iraq was keen to get pointers from Malaysia on how to attract more foreign investment as the Middle Eastern nation moved from a unilateral to a multilateral economy. "We need to expand trade with other countries and attract more foreign investment. We hope that our economic transformation will help build our private sector. "To boost our private sector, we're giving out billions of dollars in loans to companies in Iraq. Hence, it's really important for us to learn how Malaysia develops its private sector," said Dr Ali who visited Malaysia with Iraq's Education and Scientific Research Minister, Ali Mohammed Ali Al-Adeeb. Present during the interview with Dr Ali was the Iraqi ambassador to Malaysia, Dr Amal Moussa Hussein. Dr Ali said Iraq would like to learn about aspects of governance from Malaysia, including the preparation of an annual budget for the country. He said that 50 Iraqi government employees would be sent to Malaysia next month to attend seminars and training programmes for up to three weeks in an effort to boost Iraq's human capital capabilities. Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Ali Mohammed said his ministry was linking up with Malaysia's Higher Education Ministry in a bid to enhance educational ties between the two countries. "Both ministries have completed a draft document outlining our cooperation programme. We're now awaiting approval from the Malaysian Foreign Ministry," he said. The minister said Iraq would send about 400 students to Malaysia this year to pursue studies in science and technology, especially engineering. They are part of 10,000 Iraqi students to be sent for studies abroad to countries like the United States, Australia, Turkey, Iran and the United Kingdom. Ali Mohammed said Iraq welcomed Malaysian universities to open branches in the country. He described the two memorandums of understanding (MoU) inked between the respective ministries with the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) last Thursday as a starting point for greater cooperation between both countries. The MoUs were signed by IIUM Rector Prof Dr Zaleha Kamaruddin while Ali Mohammed and Dr Ali represented their ministries. Parties to the MoU will collaborate in the fields of research, academic and student exchange programmes and any other field mutually agreed upon. -- BERNAMA