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Iraq trade fair

Attar Chand, New Delhi

Many foreign delegates arrived in Iraq to participate in the Baghdad International Trade Fair, held in Baghdad from November 8, in defiance of the United Nation's sanctions, a sign that Iraq's world-wide isolation is fast easing.

Officials and business representatives from 40 nations participated in the fair, which included Lebanon, Ireland, Russia, Turkey and the UAE.

They took part in the fair despite sanctions -- including extensive restrictions on international flights -- imposed by the United Nations Security Council after Iraq occupied its neighbour, Kuwait, in 1990.

Some Arab and other countries recently began sending planes to Iraq. France, China and Russia have also argued for the easing of the sanctions against Iraq, but the US and the UK seem determined to maintain them.