BAGHDAD: United States Tuesday urged members of the coalition fighting Daesh (ISIS) to help rebuild Iraq or risk a reversal of the gains made against the group, and said it would extend to Baghdad a $3 billion credit line. The United States leads the coalition and hopes that after a three-year fight to defeat the militants it can count in large part on Gulf allies to shoulder the burden of rebuilding Iraq. It is also counting on a Saudi-Iraqi rapprochement to weaken Iran’s influence in Iraq. Iraq declared victory over Daesh in December, having taken back all the territory captured by the militants in 2014 and 2015. The fighters have also been largely defeated in neighboring Syria.
“If communities in Iraq and Syria cannot return to normal life, we risk the return of conditions that allowed ISIS to take and control vast territory,” U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a donors’ conference for Iraq hosted by Kuwait. We must continue to clear unexploded remnants of war left behind by ISIS, enable hospitals to reopen, restore water and electricity services, and get boys and girls back in school,” he said. Tillerson added that the official U.S. export credit agency, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), would sign with Iraq’s Finance Ministry Tuesday a $3 billion memorandum of understanding “that will set a stage for future cooperation.” Earlier, Sami al-Araji, chairman of Iraq’s National Investment Commission, declared that “Iraq is open for investors.” World Bank officials joined Iraqi government representatives in Kuwait City to seek pledges from more than 2,000 representatives of international firms in attendance. Araji said Iraq, which has been either at war or under international sanctions since 1980, is offering projects in almost every economic field. He presented more than 200 projects open to investors, including oil refineries, massive housing and industrial ventures, transport projects and at least four power plants. Investors will enjoy a high level of legal protection, Araji said, adding that Iraq is also planning to establish four economic zones. Iraqi and World Bank officials Tuesday talked up legal guarantees available in post-Daesh Iraq, pointing to an investment law that offers ownership, unlimited cash transfers and tax breaks, and other benefits. Nizar Nasser Hussein, the head of the legal department at the NIC, said the latest version of the law does not distinguish between foreign and Iraqi investors. Foreign investors can establish Iraqi companies,” he told AFP, adding that investors would be given lease contracts for 50 years, renewable for a similar period. Investors will also be exempt from customs duties and income tax for 10-15 years, Hussein said. Araji said investors in Iraq will find “high risks, but high returns.” Rebuilding Iraq will cost more than $88 billion and housing is a particularly urgent priority, Iraqi officials told the conference Monday. Tillerson said Washington appreciates the “generous contributions” of coalition members over the past year but more is needed. However, the U.S. government is not expected to pledge direct financial aid at the conference. It’s not in the question of a pledging thing where we go out with requests, it’s underscoring [that] there is a need for support. It’s investment, it’s private company engagement, it’s DFI,” a senior State Department official traveling with Tillerson told reporters Monday.