Basra welcomes the decision to exempt citizens of 37 countries from entry visas to Iraq

Basra welcomes the decision to exempt citizens of 37 countries from entry visas to Iraq
On March 9, 2021


The Independent / - Nariman Al-Maliki / .. Government officials and businessmen in Basra Governorate have welcomed the recent decision of the Iraqi government to exempt citizens of 37 countries from the characteristics of entering Iraq, with the aim of supporting investment and work in Iraq and starting it in the middle of this month.

The head of the Basra Investment Commission, Alaa Abdul-Hussein, told Al-Mustaqillah, "Any decision taken by the government to facilitate procedures for investors will create an encouraging environment for investment in Iraq, and for Basra in particular."

He pointed out that “the visa to enter Iraq has become not easy, especially with the outbreak of the Corona pandemic,” noting that “Basra Governorate has many foreign investment requests in all sectors, and this decision will facilitate the procedures for granting investment licenses to investors.”

Abdul Hussein explained that "the most important thing that investment needs is to be supplied by banks and banks with clear procedures," adding that "Iraqi banks do not have this vision as they are in neighboring countries and the world."

And he called for "Iraqi banks' transactions to be more flexible and smooth with investors, especially foreigners."

The head of the Basra Investment Commission pointed out that “the province is the economic artery of Iraq, and through investment and facilities approved by the Iraqi government, Basra can contribute to Iraq’s supply in all industrial fields other than the oil investment for which it is famous,” stressing that all of this is achieved by creating an integrated investment environment from In terms of legislating laws that facilitate the work of foreign investors, adding banks.



The new decision includes businessmen and companies from the permanent members of the Security Council, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland to enter Iraq through the air, land and sea ports.

For his part, a spokesperson for the Basra Governorate, the jurist, Moeen Hassan, told Al-Mustaqilah that “the local government in Basra Governorate suffers greatly from the procedures followed regarding obtaining an entry visa, and despite the governor’s authorization of the authority to grant visas to investors, the General Residency Department has undermined these powers, which is difficult Measures "

He stressed that "the previous routine measures impede the investment process in Basra Governorate and the rest of the provinces."

He pointed out that "Basra is one of the governorates most benefiting and affected by this decision at the same time because the governorate will be open to all, and capital will be activated in it and investment will be stimulated in all sectors, which will contribute to significantly reducing unemployment."

Hassan described the previous law as “non-adversarial,” while the current law “is okay,” stressing that “all obstacles that hinder the wheel of investment must be removed.”

He stated that Basra “will benefit greatly from this decision by entering the equipment of companies that have been exempted from fees, whether contracting with the local government in Basra or contracting with ministries, in addition to the process of entry of people from investors, company owners and capital owners. Facilitating their entry whenever investment and economic movement became more active. ”



To that, the head of the Businessmen Union in Basra Governorate, Id Sabih Hashem, described the decision in a statement to (Al-Mustaqilla) as an "encouraging and supportive of investment," noting that Iraq has become "an investment-repelling environment because of the routine procedures and the laws followed."

Hashem said, "On several occasions we have presented to the prime minister the measures that made Iraq late in the process of investing and bringing in capital and businessmen," noting that this decision "is a great incentive for Arab and foreign companies to come to Iraq."

And he expected the decision to exempt 37 countries from entry visas, "likewise from those countries, and this is important and big for businessmen, and it is a fixed policy in all countries."

Hashem stressed that "the picture has become clear to all foreign investors, which will facilitate the arrival of companies without any obstacles or blackmail or routine work despite the delay in issuing this decision."

The government said in a previous statement that entry procedures would be facilitated by granting express entry visas to Iraq at airports and border crossings and paying the entry visas prescribed by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior.



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