VZCZCXYZ0001
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHGB #2675 2781545
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY ADBEA7C1 MSI8321-695)
R 051545Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4952
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 002675 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION 
STATE FOR NEA/I/ECON 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAID KCOR IZ
SUBJECT: IIER HOLDS CONFERENCE ON TRANSPARENCY AND ECONOMIC LAWS 
 
REF: Baghdad 2346 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY.  The Iraqi Institute for Economic Reform (IIER) held 
a successful conference entitled "The Absence of Economic 
Legislation and Transparency in Iraq" October 3.  The conference was 
financed under a $1.5 million USG-Targeted Development Grant (TDG). 
About 70 people attended, including Embassy Anti-Corruption 
Coordinator Ambassador Joseph Stafford, members of the Council of 
Representatives (COR), the Acting Minister of Trade, and several 
CEOs of Iraqi companies.  As evidenced by this event, IIER's 
Baghdad-based office now has the capacity to work more independently 
from its London-based exile leadership.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
¶2. (U) The discussion at IIER's October 3 conference on transparency 
and economic laws was lively.  Anti-Corruption Coordinator 
Ambassador Joseph Stafford noted the progress the GOI has made in 
fighting corruption and reiterated the USG commitment to assist. 
Acting Minister of Trade Dr. Safaa al-Safee said the COR should 
question Ministers more about their Ministries' expenditures and 
hold them accountable for any corrupt activities.  A few members of 
the COR said the budget process should be more closely related to 
strategic plans of the various Ministries and suggested that the 
budget document include more information about individual line 
items.  They also said the Board of Supreme Audits' reports should 
be taken more seriously and that punitive action should be imposed 
against corrupt officials.  Other GOI officials criticized Iraq's 
water management and suggested ways to improve public access to 
information on key government programs, either through media or 
websites. 
 
 
¶3. (U) A few Iraqi businessmen said better transparency would 
improve Iraq's investment climate.  Iraqi Energy Think Tank Director 
Luaye Khatib said that if better laws existed to protect investors, 
the private sector could do a better job of diversifying the Iraqi 
economy away from oil.  Basam Antoine, Board Member of the Iraq 
Federation of Industries, said government officials need to be more 
in touch with the daily lives of ordinary Iraqis and should publish 
a strategic budget that everyone could understand.  He said the 
Ministers in general are not qualified for their positions, and 
should use their advisors more to help make the best decisions.  He 
suggested that some Ministries merge to streamline the GOI, e.g., 
the Oil and Electricity Ministries should become an Energy Ministry. 
 The private sector representatives also discussed the lack of 
effectiveness of the Integrity Commission and how politics 
interferes with their performance. 
 
COMMENT 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) This successful conference is an example of how our $1.5 
million TDG support to IIER is paying off.  Last year, the 
Baghdad-based IIER office would likely have been unable to organize 
a high-level event without substantial guidance from the 
London-based trustees.  IIER's Baghdad-based Administrator and 
full-time Secretariat organized this conference with little 
oversight from London, and clearly have the capacity to stimulate 
discussion between the public and private sectors.  After several 
more USG funded-conferences in the coming year, IIER should have 
regained its status as the premier Iraqi NGO fostering and 
influencing national economic policy debates. 
 
HILL