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On 17-18 February 2010, the first Meeting of the Working Group on Infrastructure Finance in Iraq was organised in co-operation with the Jordan Executive Privatisation Commision in Amman.

The meeting was a follow-up to the Conference on Opportunities for Infrastructure Finance in Iraq, that took place on 21 November 2009 in Baghdad. The Baghdad Conference had asked the Government of Iraq, with the support of the MENA-OECD Investment Programme, to establish a Working Group with the following objectives:

• Make recommendations on priority infrastructure needs and appropriate financing mechanisms,
• Identify issues and obstacles associated with the most applicable financing mechanisms and make recommendations to address these issues,
• Identify high priority infrastructure projects and prepare proposals and recommend implementation to the Government of Iraq, and
• Monitor project implementation.
  

This first meeting of the Working Group brought together 19 high-level representatives of the Government of Iraq as well as international and regional experts. Representatives from the MENA-OECD Investment Programme, the World Bank, MIGA, UNDP, UNIDO, the Islamic Development Bank, and national lending and guarantee agencies gave an overview of their role in infrastructure finance, and members discussed sources of funding for infrastructure projects in Iraq: public-private partnerships and development bank loans.

Following the mandate of the Baghdad conference, members of the working group decided on the following concrete actions:

• Establish a central database with information provided by the members of the working group on infrastructure projects within the different Iraqi line ministries and agencies;
• Using this database, the working group will facilitate decisions within the government of Iraq on priorities according to proposed common criteria;
• Address capacity issues related to the conduct of feasibility studies, strengthen implementation capacities, and facilitate access to lending and guarantee agencies, international expertise and best practice material;
• Based on these criteria, establish a list of 15-20 priority infrastructure projects to be prepared for presenting to private investors or loan agencies.
  

Working group members will report on progress on these four actions at the second meeting of the Working Group to be held in April 2010.

Agenda (English / Arabic)

Participants List

• Session 1: The Iraqi Experience of Infrastructure Finance
  • The Iraqi Experience of Infrastructure Finance
    Mr. Shakir Salman Fayyadh, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Infrastructure Iraq
    
• Session 2: Extra-Budgetary Sources of Funding for Infrastructure Projects: Public-Private Partnerships
  • The OECD Principles for Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure: Key Recommendations to the Government of Iraq,
    Mr. Alexander Boehmer, MENA-OECD Investment Programme
  • Designing a Public-Private Partnership for Infrastructure,
    Mr. Stephen Rimmer, World Bank
  • The Role of International Financial Institutions in Financing Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure,
    Mr. James Polan, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
    
• Session 3: Extra-Budgetary Sources of Funding for Infrastructure Projects: Development Bank Loans
  • Designing an Infrastructure Loan Application for Development Banks,
    Mr. Walid Abdelwahab, Infrastructure Department, Islamic Development Bank
  • Loan Decision Processes in Development Banks
    Mr. Chris August, Expert on Banking, Finance and Investment

  • The Role of Country and Enterprise Risk Assessment and Loan Insurance in Infrastructure Finance,
    Mr. Marc Murcia, Coface France

  • Risk Assessment and Mitigation in Infrastructure Projects,
    Mr. Louis Bedoucha, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
    

• Session 4: Potential Projects as Case Studies for Infrastructure Finance
  • Reconstruction of the Mosul Dam,
    Mr. Peter Stein, Stein Brothers AB
  • Upgrading of the Umm Qasr port,
    Mr. Peter Stein, Stein Brothers AB
    

(English / Arabic)

• An overview of Development Bank and Guarantee Agency Services for Infrastructure Finance (English / Arabic)
• OECD Principles for Private Sector Participation in Infrastructure