The Iraqi Ministry of Planning plays a coordinating role in developing and implementing procurement regulations across both the federal and provincial government levels. Thusly, CLDP conducted the first phase of a multi-phase public procurement program on dispute resolution in coordination with the Government Contracts Division of Iraq’s Ministry of Planning. The program participants included 15 procurement officials from several key Iraqi ministries in addition to provincial government officials.  The first phase workshop provided an overview of the procurement cycle and process, identified mechanisms to minimize disputes and introduced the participants to dispute resolution mechanisms specifically for government contracts. The workshop speakers included representatives of USAID in addition to senior lawyers at US law firms who guided the participants through detailed presentations and interactive exercises on identifying and minimizing risks in government contracts.