Sultan Barakat, director of the PRDU, and WANA Forum moderator stated that "entrepreneurs are key drivers of growth capable of reigniting the economy in the aftermath of war and vital in recovery efforts that work toward securing jobs, generating wealth and delivering the benefits of a peacetime economy to all citizens",.
The event, entitled "The Role of the Private Sector in Rebuilding Basra", was organized by the WANA Forum in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the London School of Economics (LSE), the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU) at the University of York, all seeking coordinated action over working against mounting regional challenges on an ad hoc basis