A resounding victory and a road map to push the Iraqi economy forward

Sadiq Ali Hassan

 

 

After the declaration of absolute victory over the preacher at the end of 2017, the announcement of the Iraqi Prime Minister for the liberation of all Iraqi territory after the occupation of full or partial to many of the Iraqi provinces, including Nineveh and Salahuddin in the north and parts of Diyala in the east and Anbar in the West - nearly 40 % Of the country's territory, which produced 80,000 barrels of crude oil in 2014, represented a historic milestone for the Iraqi people.

At the same time, the Iraqi economy has been in a long period of crisis, and suffers from real structural imbalances, whether in the real or financial sectors. This was caused by the absence of economic policy and the lack of long-term relevance. Which is contrary to the rules of modern economic construction, as well as depletion of the country's resources in the wars of liberation and the most recent declaration of victory over a supporter.

Despite the preoccupation of the Iraqi government to liberate its territory, it has tended as it tries to lift the economy from its problems in the provision of basic services to citizens and fill the salaries of employees is the deficit and the investment gap, which requires filling from other sources, both domestic investment (private sector) or foreign investment, This depends on creating an enabling investment environment that will convince investors to come to the Iraqi arena or else the difficulties and problems will continue.

New political orientations

In August 2015, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi introduced reforms to reduce the size of the government and address corruption, accompanied by local economic reforms based on reducing unnecessary public expenditures and increasing the efficiency of collecting public revenues, including customs duties and taxes. Non-oil revenues, which are poured into the public budget alongside oil.

  The Iraqi government leaders reform program to simplify procedures to help in investment and remove obstacles to investors and businessmen and Iraqis and foreigners and lift obstacles to projects, especially through the start of commercial activity, which became easier in Iraq by combining multiple registration procedures and shorten the time required to register companies. Entrepreneurs are no longer required to register their companies independently with the General Authority for Taxes. In addition, the time required for registration of companies has been reduced, owing to the increased resources available in the registration services and the improvement of the electronic registration system.

A new dawn of economic reform is taking place in Iraq

 The effects of the reform initiative have emerged across many sectors, with the flow of non-oil revenue increasing now. A total of 2,219 and 2323 new private sector companies were registered in 2016 and 2017 respectively. The Iraqi Stock Exchange witnessed an increase in trading volume from KD 516 billion to KD 900 in the same period.

The World Bank also confirmed that, during 2016-2017, Iraq had been able to implement fundamental changes in the domestic regulatory framework in two main areas: starting business and obtaining credit.

Iraq has also strengthened its credit information infrastructure by launching a credit bureau operated by the Central Bank of Iraq, which includes a five-year history of 234,967 individuals and 4,877 commercial loans as of January 1, 2017.

"The Iraqi government has embarked on a fundamental reform agenda based on the General Government Framework Program (2014-2018), which places priority on institutional economic reforms and the development of the private sector," said Saroj Kumar Jha, regional director for the Middle East division at the World Bank.

The Government of Iraq also succeeded in strengthening the investment mechanism in the country and put it through the ratification of the following economic and investment agreements:

    In 2015, Iraq joined the International Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Citizens of Other States (the International Center for the Settlement of Foreign Trade), one of the main instruments of international law that protects and encourages foreign investment.


    In 2017, Iraq ratified the United Nations Convention on Transparency in Investor-State Arbitration (Mauritius Convention on Transparency).


    In 2018, Iraq ratified the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards.

A bright future and a productive economy

The conference was held in Kuwait with the participation of 76 countries, 107 international and regional organizations, 51 development funds, NGOs and 1,850 private sector representatives to enhance confidence between Iraq and the international community. Victorious of war.

In addition to the achievements of the Kuwait International Conference held in Baghdad, "The Forum of Investment Opportunities and Reconstruction of Iraq" in April 2018, which adopted new economic trends such as public-private partnership, which will provide promising opportunities within the framework of the program of economic reform and the alignment of the countries of the world and international organizations, But stressed the sincere desire and determination of dozens of Iraqi and foreign companies, to enter the fields of investment in the provinces of all countries, which signed 9 investment licenses and memorandums of understanding:

    Rehabilitation and development of central markets (Mustansiriya market, the market of justice and work, Salihia and people) worth 205 million dollars, the company Daeco British.
    The Muftiyah project in Basra (residential, entertainment and commercial) worth $ 234 million, the British company Daeco
    The caustic soda complex and the $ 80 million al-Muthanna table salt production plant. Al Ghaith UAE Company.
    Signature of 3 memoirs

The most important with the Kuwaiti investor Jawad Bukhamseen to establish 3 hotels and commercial centers in Kadhimiya, Karbala and Samarra.


5 star hotel and shopping center in Baghdad.


E-government project via satellite.


Construction of the industrial city in Baghdad.


Expansion and development of Andalus Specialist Hospital in Baghdad.


A branch of an international university specialized in Baghdad with an area of ​​25 acres - Al Hawadi Group UAE.


All the above mentioned projects, initiatives and reforms are in line with the five-year plan 2018-2022 and address the problems and obstacles in the framework of the sustainable development journey in accordance with the vision of Iraq for 2030, through the strategic objectives and principles adopted by it, including establishing the foundations of good governance and achieving economic, financial, monetary, banking and commercial reform.


On the recovery of the provinces affected by the crisis of displacement and the loss of human security. In addition, providing an attractive environment for investment in all its forms will provide more than two million jobs.


It is ultimately a plan that paves the way for building the future state by addressing the challenges and providing new opportunities for growth with continued international and regional support for Iraq.


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