Iraq is planning to build 3.5 million popular housing units in seven years and would like to count on Brazil for that. The information was disclosed by the country's minister of Industry, Fawzi Hariri, who traveled to Florianópolis, the capital of the state of Santa Catarina, in the Brazilian South, last week.
In addition to the houses, the government should also build 4,000 schools and 28 hospitals with approximately 400 beds each. He called on companies from the state to take part in the projects.
The minister, who attended a business meeting at the Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina (Fiesc), said that the Iraqi government's strategy is to attract partners and investment in order to develop the country.
"Any company will be allowed to go to Iraq and work freely, with or without the partnership of Iraqi companies," said Hariri, in a press release issued by the Fiesc.
Sectors with business potential in Iraq include civil construction, auto parts, energy generation products, machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, paper and pulp, and medication. The minister, who also visited São Paulo, showed interest in importing lorries by Mercedes-Benz Brazil and automobiles.
In the municipality of São Bernardo do Campo, in the Greater São Paulo region, the minister met with mayor Luiz Marinho, who said that he intends to organize a trade mission from the city to the Arab country. In the Brazilian capital, Brasília, Hariri met with the minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, Miguel Jorge, to discuss the reestablishment of closer economic ties between the two countries.
From January to May, exports from the state of Santa Catarina to Iraq totaled US$ 2.55 billion, as against US$ 3.28 billion during the same period of last year. Chicken meat, tobacco, motocompressors, soy, and doors were some of the main products shipped from the state to the Arab country.
Anba
