Ther Hague, 21 May 2010 — the Governor of the Iraqi province of Basra, Dr. Shiltagh, with a group of Iraqi authorities and businessmen from his province, welcomed a group of Dutch companies and entrepreneurs at the Iraqi Embassy in The Hague.
Governor Shiltagh is a great advocate of Dutch expertise, technology and enterprise to rehabilitate the oil, water, construction and agricultural sectors of his province. Iraqi Ambassador to The Netherlands Siamand Banaa said Basra is the richest province of Iraq, it has the three largest oil fields of the world, Majnoon, Rumalah and Gurnah. There is great opportunity for Dutch companies to get into the great development and opportunities the province is offering.
Ambassador Banaa, Mr. Paul Zwetsloot of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Mr. Robert Termote, Head of International Building Support, the first Dutch entrepreneur to visit Basra, spoke about the opportunities. Mr Zwetsloot stressed Dutch expertise on port development.
Representatives of Shell, TNO, the Netherlands Council for Trade Promotion and other major Dutch companies have pledged and been attracted to take up the Governor’s invitation and visit the province. It is significant to note that the Governor was elected on his merits and according to the new Iraqi Constitution has great powers and authorities independent of the central Iraqi government.
Source: Iraqi Embassy to The Netherlands