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Viewing cable 09BAGHDAD357, PM MALIKI CHOOSES ALI ALLAWI AS NEXT CHAIRMAN OF

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09BAGHDAD357 2009-02-11 14:29 2011-08-24 16:30 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Baghdad
VZCZCXRO8746
PP RUEHBC RUEHDA RUEHDE RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #0357 0421429
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 111429Z FEB 09 ZFF4 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1650
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS BAGHDAD 000357 
 
SIPDIS 
 
COMMERCE PLEASE PASS: ITA/IAIRTF/SUSAN HAMROCK MANN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EINV PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: PM MALIKI CHOOSES ALI ALLAWI AS NEXT CHAIRMAN OF 
NATIONAL INVESTMENT COMMISSION 
 
REF: A. 08 BAGHDAD 2811 
     B. 08 BAGHDAD 3579 
 
1. (SBU) Summary: GOI officials confirmed to us on February 
9th that Ali Allawi is PM Maliki's choice to be the next 
Chairman of the National Investment Commission (NIC).  While 
Allawi will still need to be formally nominated by the 
Council of Ministers (COM) and confirmed by the Council of 
Representatives (COR), his selection as NIC chairman is a 
positive development. If confirmed, he will need to quickly 
provide leadership and guidance to steer the GOI,s thus far 
disjointed efforts to improve the business climate and 
attract foreign direct investment. End Summary. 
 
Allawi Named NIC Chairman 
------------------------- 
2. (SBU) GOI officials confirmed to us on February 9 the 
selection of Ali Allawi as Chairman of the National 
Investment Commission (NIC). Long a part of the Iraqi exile 
elite in London, Allawi previously served as Minister of 
Trade and Defense for the Iraqi Governing Council and 
Minister of Finance for the Iraqi transitional government. 
After leaving the interim government, he authored the book 
"The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace." 
Allawi is a former professor at Oxford University, consultant 
to the World Bank, and a graduate of both MIT (BS) ad Harvard 
(MBA). 
 
Next Steps 
---------- 
3. (SBU) The COM must formally nominate Allawi and the COR 
must confirm his nomination before he can take his seat as 
NIC Chairman, a process that has bedeviled his predecessors. 
The COR never confirmed previous NIC chairman-designate Ahmed 
Ridha, a fact that hampered his efforts to grow and 
strengthen the role of the NIC and technically forbade him 
the legal authority to sign investment licenses. (refs A,B) 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
4. (SBU) While there is some concern about Allawi's long 
absence from Baghdad (even as a minister he spent much of his 
time in London), interlocutors here feel Allawi is both more 
politically astute and connected than his predecessor, 
although this will not necessarily translate into a 
rubber-stamp confirmation.  Some here also question whether 
or not his academic and bureaucratic credentials, while 
impressive, lend themselves to the role of investment 
promoter-in-chief.  That said, a prominent figure is needed 
to take the helm of an organization that desperately requires 
leadership, staffing, and skills development, and Allawi 
would seem to fit the bill.  Hopefully the growing GOI focus 
on increasing private sector investment and diversifying its 
economy will highlight the necessity of having a confirmed 
NIC Chairman in place, and we will continue to press this 
point in our conversations with the GOI.  The earliest 
reasonable timeframe for a vote on Allawi's nomination 
appears to be in mid to late March. 
 
CROCKER