Maintaining security in Iraq encourages foreign investments – minister

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s Defense Minister, Abdulqader Mohamed Jassem al-Ubeidi, said Thursday that maintaining security in Iraq encourages foreign companies to invest in it. Addressing the security leaders conference in Baghdad, with the participation of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, the defense minister said that “security forces have eliminated all forms of terrorism and as a result of maintaining security in Iraq, international companies compete to invest in it.” “All water, oil and electricity networks are now protected by Iraqi security forces and we managed to secure the recent elections and to put a timetable for the withdrawal of Multinational forces from the country,” he added. On December 13, 2008, the Iraqi government signed a long-term agreement with the United States, known as the Status-of-Forces Agreement (SOFA) to regulate the presence and withdrawal of foreign troops after 2008. Under the agreement, a complete troop withdrawal from Iraq is supposed to take place by the end of 2011. SH (S) 1