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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
By Bill Rodgers
Washington
12 April 2007
Watch Iraq Prospects1
Few foreign companies, aside from those dealing2 directly with the military, are contemplating3 business in Iraq until the security situation improves. Yet despite the violence, U.S. officials say opportunities do exist, primarily in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region where the economy is expanding rapidly. As VOA's Bill Rodgers reports, U.S. officials are touting4 the northern Kurdistan area as a gateway5 for eventually doing business in the rest of the country.
Construction in Iraq's northern Kurdish region
Construction is one sign of the economic boom in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, where cranes tower over mosques6 in the region's capital city of Irbil.
Construction and other business activities are helping7 the economy there expand by an estimated 10 percent a year, according to Commerce Department Undersecretary Frank Lavin.
At a recent Washington seminar, Lavin urged American companies to consider operating from Iraq's northern Kurdistan area - a strategy he called the Northern Gateway Initiative.
"If you're a U.S. company and you are thinking about an Iraq strategy," said Lavin, "think about the Kurdistan region as a possible gateway for Iraq, because the security situation is in hand there. You do have broad latitude8 for business decision-making. It is easier to expand, build and hire and so forth9, and it can be a reasonable platform for serving the rest of Iraq."
Frank Lavin
While no American manufacturers have established themselves in the Kurdish region, American products are available in markets, trucked in from Turkey. Lavin believes the region is ripe for foreign investment.
"What they need right away is oil refinery10 and power generation," noted11 Lavin. "But there's an enormous reconstruction12 and retail13 boom underway. Almost anything you could sell in Turkey or Kuwait, you could sell in the Kurdistan region."
Iraq's huge petroleum14 reserves accounted for much of the country's nearly $30 billion in export earnings15 last year, and oil will be the main attraction for potential foreign investors16. The petrochemical sector17 especially offers promising18 business opportunities, but only if the violence that rocks parts of the country comes to an end.
Lavin acknowledges that foreign investment will remain non-existent until Iraqis stop the violence. "I think they've got to come to terms with it. I think they've got to get their arms around it because businesses will go elsewhere," he said. "Businesses need a secure operating environment, and if they don't have confidence that is the direction Iraq is headed, they're going to put their efforts elsewhere."
In the meantime, Lavin and other U.S. officials are urging the Iraqi government to enact19 an investment law to prepare for the day when American and other foreign companies may want to do business in Iraq.
1 prospects | |
n.希望,前途(恒为复数) | |
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2 dealing | |
n.经商方法,待人态度 | |
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3 contemplating | |
深思,细想,仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 ); 注视,凝视; 考虑接受(发生某事的可能性); 深思熟虑,沉思,苦思冥想 | |
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4 touting | |
v.兜售( tout的现在分词 );招揽;侦查;探听赛马情报 | |
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5 gateway | |
n.大门口,出入口,途径,方法 | |
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6 mosques | |
清真寺; 伊斯兰教寺院,清真寺; 清真寺,伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 ) | |
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7 helping | |
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的 | |
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8 latitude | |
n.纬度,行动或言论的自由(范围),(pl.)地区 | |
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9 forth | |
adv.向前;向外,往外 | |
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10 refinery | |
n.精炼厂,提炼厂 | |
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11 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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12 reconstruction | |
n.重建,再现,复原 | |
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13 retail | |
v./n.零售;adv.以零售价格 | |
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14 petroleum | |
n.原油,石油 | |
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15 earnings | |
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得 | |
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16 investors | |
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 ) | |
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17 sector | |
n.部门,部分;防御地段,防区;扇形 | |
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18 promising | |
adj.有希望的,有前途的 | |
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19 enact | |
vt.制定(法律);上演,扮演 | |
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