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600 firms attend major trade fair in Baghdad

Xinhua, November 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

The 42nd Baghdad International Fair in the Iraqi capital started on Sunday with the participation of some 600 Iraqi and international companies from 22 countries.

In the opening ceremony, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that "the exhibition proves that the country (Iraq) has a great potential that can rise again."

However, Abadi said Iraq cannot rise alone without cooperation in order to build peaceful society and safeguard the peace in the region as well as in the whole world.

Abadi also said that Iraq has made progress in the fighting against the Islamic State (IS) militant group which seizes large parts of the country despite financial crisis that was caused by the sharp reduction of oil prices in the world markets.

"Despite the financial crisis, we have achieved remarkable victories (against the IS) and had liberated hundreds of kilometers at Baiji and Anbar provinces, and we have militarily secured the capital city of Baghdad in 100 percent," Abadi said.

The exhibition was held under tight security measures and the Iraqi forces blocked the roads leading to the fair in Mansour district in the western part of Baghdad.

The security situation in Iraq has been drastically deteriorated since June last year, when bloody clashes broke out between Iraqi security forces and the IS group which captured large parts of predominantly Sunni provinces in northern and central parts of the country. Endit