Ministry Of Trade Gathers With Other Officials And Soldiers
The local leaders of Diyala have started to organize and hold meetings. The Ministry of Trade, along with members of the Diyala local government and Coalition reconstruction team members sat down for a series of discussions on February 18th in Diyala.
The meetings were the first time that all of the local leaders have sat down and discussed issues of importance for the region. It was the first time that issues such as food distribution were discussed on the local level; much of the organization has fallen to coalition forces to arrange up to this point. But slowly elected representatives of the people are beginning to take charge.
“These meetings are to let people from different sectors here in the region get to know one another, and to work though problems together,” said Provincial Reconstruction team leader John Jones. Jones is with Coalition forces working to help rebuild Iraq.
The different department heads came with ideas on what to do, and what challenges they face individually and as a region. Ministers from different parts of the government were able to meet and talk about shared goals, and work to create a vision for the area.
There are new things to discuss at future meetings; this is just one example of how cooperation and discussion helps solve problems. Recently a key route between Baqubah and Baghdad was reopened with joint Iraqi Army and Coalition efforts, and this has helped bring vital food and supplies to the region.
