Lexington, KY - Samir Shakir Mahmood Sumaida'ie became ambassador of Iraq to the United States on May 30, 2006.
An activist opposed to Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime for many years, Ambassador Sumaida'ie left Iraq in 1973 to work as a consultant in Europe and then established his own business in 1978 in London and later Beijing. After Saddam's removal in 2003, Ambassador Sumaida'ie returned to Iraq and became a member of the Iraqi Governing Council. In April 2004, he was named Iraq's minister of interior, and in August of that year was appointed Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations.
Ambassador Sumaida'ie was in Lexington in late January as the guest of Meg Jewett and Alan Leavitt to attend "A Night of Literary Feasts," a fundraiser for the Lexington Public Library Foundation. During his visit, the ambassador met with Business Lexington's Tom Martin at the studios of WTVQ Channel 36 for a discussion about business opportunities in Iraq and the transition in U.S. leadership.
Has the security situation improved enough to discuss investment opportunities?
With stability and with considerably improved security, there are opportunities. Our focus, where it was very much on security, it is now on the economy and getting the economy moving. And for that we need to engage businesses from across the globe to come in and invest. I believe the time for that is now.
How well does Iraqi law protect the rights of individuals and businesses?
During Saddam's time, the economy was centrally controlled - everything was controlled very rigidly by the government. What we have sought to do is to change the economy into one that is friendly to private enterprise, an open market and secure for the investor. Legislation was passed to protect any investment coming into the country. We have joined an international scheme for assurance against political risk for foreign investors under the World Bank (see box.) We are now fully participating in that. We have simplified the procedures for registering new companies. In a nutshell, we have created the logistitive framework to secure investors and businesses coming into Iraq.
What specific industries in Iraq are in most immediate need of foreign investment?
Iraq was devastated through decades of misrule and then sanctions and most recently, security problems. Everything needs to be rebuilt. But starting primarily with our oil sector, our energy sector, we need to upgrade, renew and expand our oil production facilities and refining facilities. We require essential infrastructure services like electricity and water. I'm here in Kentucky today, and some houses have lost their power, and for them this is a novel thing that happens occasionally, but Iraqis have to endure that all the time. We've got to get out of that. We need clean water to be accessible to every Iraqi. We need roads, bridges, hospitals, you name it. We also have other industries, like mining for phosphates or sulphur. There are so many sectors that it is really across the board.
What's the first step in doing business in Iraq?
The first step would be to visit. Find an Iraqi partner. If he or she is still unsure about the security in Baghdad - although it's very good, probably more secure than many cities outside of Iraq - they can start in the North of Iraq, in Arbil and explore and study the market, to see what the needs are. You know, you don't have to immediately go in with a big bang and invest huge sums of money. I think this is the right time to explore, to assess, conduct feasibility studies and that kind of thing. But, let me say that American businesses are behind. There is much more interest now from Asian and regional businesses, even European businesses. The Americans are very definitely behind and we don't want them to be behind; we want them to be at the forefront of this massive project which, once it gets going, will be the engine of progress in the whole region.
To what do you attribute that American reluctance?
Caution. The images you keep seeing on your television screens of car bomb after car bomb, suicide bomber after suicide bomber. That cumulatively gives the impression that you can't survive in Iraq. That's far from the truth. The situation now is far better. Certain parts of the country are no more risky than walking the streets of Lexington, Kentucky.
What are your impressions of the transition of the U.S. presidency from George Bush to Barack Obama?
All Iraqis are grateful to President Bush for intervening and removing one of the most ruthless dictators in modern history. That we cannot take away from President Bush. And in 20, 30, maybe 50 years time, with the perspective of hindsight and history, that decision will be vindicated, and from our perspective as Iraqis, we feel that has opened the future for the country. Now, many serious mistakes were made. We suffered a great deal. Americans suffered. And I think that President Bush realizes now that maybe the intervention was not managed in the best possible way. But, as a person, I have great regard for him. He is a genuine individual who is highly caring and thoughtful. So, I don't want to take anything away from that. As for the new administration, I had the privilege of meeting the then-Senator Obama and I found him to be very intelligent, open-minded, listened very carefully to what I had to say and engaged me with questions that were perceptive and based on good information. So, I have great respect for him and I think he is an inspiring kind of leader. He has created a lot of hope, not only in the United States but in the region and in Iraq. He is a very popular person in Iraq. So we are all looking forward to working with the new administration in securing the achievements that have been made, making sure that they are not jeopardized and making sure that we put the last nail in the coffin of Al Qaeda and the terrorists who wreaked so much havoc in our country and in this country.
What was your impression of Obama's decision to give his first television interview as president to Al-Arabiya Arab TV Network?
I think that was a very smart move, frankly. It was a very, very smart move. Look, this war on terror, this perception that there are two camps, the American-led Western camp and the Islamic camp, and they are mortal enemies, this has to be dissipated. There is no such reality on the ground. The Islamic world needs the American and Western world and the Western world needs to live with the Islamic world. It's the extremists who have to be isolated. And frankly, there are extremists everywhere, not only in the Islamic world. Extremism is destructive, disruptive and has to be defeated. Not least the Al Qaeda type of extremism. So, I think that President Obama's move has disarmed a lot of American critics, has opened a lot of minds and created an opportunity that will dissipate this enmity or whatever resides in the minds of people who have grievances, problems and misunderstandings and "clear the deck," as it were, for constructive dialogue. This was a good move.