Breathing new life into an old approach: The looking-east policy of the post-war Iraq

After many years of devastating military conflicts and sweeping international sanction, the Middle Eastern country was devoid of sufficient financial and technological resources to rebuild in the post-war era. And since the West did not commit itself to a thorough programme of nation-building and reconstruction as widely expected, the Iraqis had to turn to eastern nations. By embarking upon a looking-east approach, therefore, Iraq aimed to particularly persuade a number of rich and resourceful Asian countries into close cooperation with Baghdad. Many Asian nations were equally interested in rekindling their connections to the post-Saddam Iraq at a critical time when the doubts and reluctance of western businesses could provide them with a potentially unique opportunity to invest especially in the sectors more conducive to their long-term vested interests in the Mideast country.