Iraq sets out a pitch for major foreign investment

* Iraq seeks to attract major oil, non-oil projects

* Ministers promote new laws on investment, hydrocarbons

* Despite foreign interest, some say it's still too early

By Luke Baker

LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - Iraq tried to sell itself as a trade and investment hotspot at a London conference on Thursday, but while 300 businessmen and financiers came to listen, their broad response was "let's wait and see".

Iraq's prime minister, oil minister and several dozen senior officials involved in business, banking, finance and trade came to tell the story that the worst is over in Iraq after six years of conflict and the country ripe for major investment.

With a well-educated population approaching 30 million, the world's third-largest proven oil reserves and a burgeoning, entrepreneurial middle-class, Iraq had the potential to become an economic powerhouse in the Middle East, they said.

While that may be true, and while available data point to growth of nearly 10 percent this year, with $10 billion of British projects already in the pipeline, there remains too much legal and security uncertainty for many long-term investors.