The two week program took place in Washington DC and featured sessions on the core components of international partnership agreements including intellectual property, INCOTERMS and international arbitration. These sessions, which were led by experts in international trade and business, focused on providing the Iraqi lawyers with an understanding of international best practices and standards in the drafting of specific terms in a partnership contract.  

The program culminated in a two-day mock negotiation with experienced American lawyers which was conducted in cooperation with the International Senior Lawyers Project. The mock negotiation provided the Iraqi lawyers with an opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired in the substantive sessions to a simulated negotiation of a strategic partnership agreement and to develop negotiation skills and strategies from expert negotiators. 

This workshop is part of a multi-phase program with the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals that CLDP began in May 2011 to help Iraqi state owned companies form strategic partnerships with foreign companies. The goal of these partnerships is to bring new technologies and products to the Iraqi market, to create new manufacturing opportunities and thereby increase employment opportunities. The primary objective of this program was to help the Iraqi general counsels develop the skills necessary to design and negotiate fair and durable agreements between their SOE and potential foreign partners.