On October 27-30, 2014, CLDP conducted a workshop in Istanbul, Turkey, to strengthen the capacity of Iraq's Provincial Investment Commissions (PICs) to effectively draft and negotiate construction contracts using FIDIC's standard terms. This is the fourth phase of a multi-phase capacity building program for Iraq's Provincial Investment Commissions (PIC). This phase featured lawyers from 10 PICs, and legal officials from the Shura Council, Council of Ministers Secretariat, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Communication, Ministry of Housing & Construction and the National Investment Commission (NIC). Given the need to bolster Iraq’s fledging construction sector and standardize the country’s public procurement system, the workshop focused on understanding and applying FIDIC, the international standard of construction contract drafting, to help Iraq attract international developers, contractors, engineers, and investors to fulfill the country’s pressing development needs.

CLDP also held an intensive planning workshop to finalize the investment contract-drafting guidebook outline, timeline, and responsibilities for its completion. The proposed investment contract-drafting guidebook aims to standardize and expedite the contract drafting process, as well as increase the level of legal certainty and predictability for foreign investors seeking to invest in Iraq through the PICs and the NIC.