Companies attend commerce fair

SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AP) -- Hundreds of companies from around the world looking for opportunities in Iraq took part Saturday in an international fair in this city in the relatively peaceful Kurdish north.
The fair, organized by the Iraqi American chamber of commerce, was inaugurated by Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Kurdistan's regional government.
Some 370 companies from around the world -- including five from the United States, 50 from Germany and 24 from Italy -- were taking part in the four-day conference.
Most of the companies specialize in infrastructure and construction, badly needed projects that have been held up by Iraq's insecurity and U.N. sanctions before that. Some of the companies were expected to sign deals with Kurdistan's regional government.
Unlike the rest of Iraq, the three Kurdish provinces in the north are safe and tightly controlled by tens of thousands of local militiamen.
The region became essentially autonomous after the 1991 Gulf War, when the U.S. imposed a no-fly zone there and kept Saddam Hussein's forces out. After the fall of his regime in April 2003, the militias secured the area despite some attacks that killed hundreds of people.
"Whoever wants to invest in this region is welcome," Barzani told The Associated Press.
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