SECOND PRT-SUPPORTED BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HILLAH 000037

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EFIN PGOV IZ
SUBJECT: SECOND PRT-SUPPORTED BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT CONFERENCE
MOBILIZES BUSINESS COMMUNITY

REF: HILLAH 22



1. Summary: At the second Business Environment Conference
(BEC2) on April 25, participants agreed on the need for the
business community to advocate for solutions with regard to
corruption, the need for improved infrastructure, better credit,
and critical economic legislation. Co-hosted by the PRT, Babil
Chamber of Commerce (BCOC) and Babylon Center for Business
Community Development (BCBCD),the conference advanced
proposals, such as forming a business community lobbying group,
undertaking public awareness campaigns and sponsoring economic
studies -- which participants were eager to follow up through
continued public-private partnership. Attendance was 50 percent
higher than expected, drawing at least 150 attendees, including
newly elected Governor Al Zargani making his first official
appearance in which he spontaneously composed and read a poem.
End Summary.


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Building Sustainability for Business Dialogue
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2. BEC2 was held on April 25 as a follow-up to an earlier
business conference (BEC1) (reftel). The idea behind BEC1 was
to start a process that would lead to; a dialogue between key
business stakeholders to identify common obstacles, the
development of an action program to address such obstacles, and
the implementation of the program. Participants at BEC1
identified financial services/access to credit, weak
infrastructure, poor economic legislation, and corruption as the
key obstacles to doing business in Babil.


3. While the PRT took the lead in organizing and hosting BEC1,
Iraqi partners assumed much of the responsibility for BEC2. The
BCOC and BCBCD helped develop BEC2's agenda and invitee list and
organized the venue, a conference hall at the ruins of Babylon.
The PRT trained BCOC and BCBCD staff to help facilitate working
group roundtable discussions on overcoming the obstacles
identified in BEC1. Like BEC1, BEC2 was held entirely in
Arabic. As the BEC process continues, the PRT will turn over
increasing responsibility to Iraqi partners to help ensure
national ownership and sustainability.


4. Participants uniformly told us that the conferences
facilitated discussions that otherwise would not occur,
particularly between the public and private sector. The working
group sessions were particularly effective at getting new ideas
on the table. A visiting Director General from Baghdad said the
roundtable format was something he now planned to emulate in his
ministry.

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Moving Towards Solutions to Business Concerns
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5. The theme of BEC2 was "Moving Towards Solutions." In the
first session the audience heard from speakers who addressed the
need for increased credit, better infrastructure, and stronger
economic legislation. The theme of corruption was raised by all
speakers as a common problem that needed to be addressed.


6. In roundtables, facilitators helped four working groups
think about ways in which the business community could address
the obstacles identified in BEC1. Participants agreed that the
fundamental question was how the business community could make
its collective voice heard on issues of fundamental importance
to the private sector. Three common approaches emerged from the
working groups: create a business lobbying group that could
reach out to the government at the provincial and national
levels; promote studies and analyses related to areas of
economic concern, and; work through the media to increase public
awareness of economic issues.


7. Participants agreed on the usefulness of the conference and
pledged to continue the dialogue. The next conference,
tentatively set for mid-June, should create entities from within
the business community to address government lobbying, economic
studies, and public awareness campaigns as well as developing
action programs for each entity.


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All Rows of Seats Full While Governor Asks About the Roses
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8. Although only about 100 invitations went out, over 150
participants showed up at the conference. Every seat was full
and the overflow crowd watched and listened from the sides. In
addition to the parties that attended BEC1, Babil's new Governor
(and outgoing Governor),Deputy-Governor, and Deputy-Provincial
Council Chairman also joined the conference. Provincial
Directorate heads, as well as one DG from the Oil Ministry from
Baghdad, also attended.


9. Newly elected Governor Salman Taha Al-Zargani highlighted
the importance of the conference by making his first public
appearance as governor. Al Zargani actively participated in a
working group discussion. Moved by the conference, Al Zargai
Salman took the microphone and read a poem composed on the spots
in which he asked the question "Where are the beautiful gardens
and roses full of the promise of my town?"


10. Babil's media put on a full-court press with newspaper,
radio and television coverage. During the two-hour working
group sessions politicians and business association heads
conducted multiple interviews. Local press reports of the
conference were positive and noted the importance of the
conference and the PRT role in organizing it. Still, the high
attendance and press coverage was something of a double-edged
sword: while it focused attention on the conference it also
meant that some participants were more inclined to make speeches
than engage in dialogue.

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Conclusion: Bottom-Up Policy Dialogue
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11. National policies and law -- e.g. on land ownership,
foreign investment and credit -- define the macro-business
environment. But the BEC process has begun to create a
sustainable public-private partnership for grass-roots advocacy
in favor of legislation and policy decisions that improve the
business environment.

HILLASK