U.S. investments in Iraq in closed conf. session

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A number of U.S. and Iraqi officials on Saturday held a closed session to discuss the participation of U.S. investors in the Iraqi market. The session was held on the sidelines of a U.S.-Iraqi economic conference that opened earlier today and was attended by IraqiNews.com. Earlier this morning, a U.S.-Iraqi economic conference opened in the capital Baghdad with the participation of high-ranking officials from both sides. The conference, held at al-Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, was attended by the deputy prime minister, Rafie al-Issawi, and the minister of finance, Baqir Jabr al-Zubeidi. On Friday, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad announced that Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert M. Kimmitt, Deputy U.S. Commerce Secretary John J. Sullivan, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and other U.S. officials would attend the conference. The governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Sinan al-Shibibi, and the head of the National Authority for Investment, Ahmed Ridha, were among the participants. SS (P) 1