Iraqis aim to learn from Northern Ireland on investment

LONDON (Reuters) - A panel trying to encourage investment in Iraq's southern province of Basra will tour Northern Ireland this week to learn how a region's economy can recover after years of conflict, its members said on Monday.

The Basra Development Commission, made up of six Iraqi businessmen and officials and one Briton, is a joint initiative of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih and was launched last December.

The commission visits Northern Ireland on Tuesday and Wednesday to see redevelopment projects and hear from officials there how inward investment has helped transform the economy of Northern Ireland after it was torn for years by conflict.

"I believe Northern Ireland has been through a similar path to some extent of what we've been through in Iraq -- the aftermath of a civil war, the reconstruction of the city and the country," Majid Alsadi, an Iraqi businessman and member of the commission, told a news conference in London.

"There's something very similar to the Basra Development Commission in Northern Ireland and we wanted to go personally to see how it works, to see how we can benefit from their experience," added Munadhil Khangir, co-chairman of the commission.

More than 3,600 people died in 30 years of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland between Protestant loyalists, who want the province to remain British, and Catholic republicans, seeking reunification with the rest of Ireland.

A 1998 peace deal largely ended the violence.

A government crackdown on militia in Basra last month triggered the country's worst fighting in months.

Nevertheless, Alsadi said the security situation in Basra had improved dramatically in the last few months.

He said there were more than $200 billion worth of investment opportunities in oil-rich Basra province, including in the port, airport, oil industry and education.

On Thursday, the commission meets oil industry representatives in Aberdeen, Scotland.

(Reporting by Adrian Croft; Editing by Giles Elgood)