During the second week of May, the US embassy in Iraq and CLDP conducted a three-day workshop to strengthen the capacity of five of Iraq's Provincial Investment Commissions (PICs) to effectively draft and negotiate strategic investment contracts. This workshop was organized in close coordination with Iraq’s National Investment Commission (NIC) and was held at NIC’s headquarters in Baghdad. The workshop was attended by a total of 25 participants from the NIC and from the PICs from five governorates: Basrah, Karbala, Mosul, Babylon, Dhi Qar. Each PIC was represented by delegates from its Public Relations, One-Stop-Shop, and Legal departments. The workshop was led by US and international private sector banking and law experts; it focused on legal contract-drafting based on international best practices, and on streamlining the investment process through a better understanding of finance, banking, and investment promotion. 

The workshop culminated in an intensive and interactive case study exercise that tested the participants' understanding of the material and their ability to apply, in an investment negotiation, the knowledge and skills acquired during the workshop. Dr. Sami Al-Araji (Chairman of the NIC) made closing remarks praising the US Embassy and CLDP for laying a foundation that will help the PICs play a vital role in attracting the investment needed to rebuild Iraq's economy. Requests were subsequently made by the NIC and the PICs for further capacity-building phases for the PICs, over the course of the year.