Al-Sudani: We have natural resources that enable us to export products outside Iraq
Al-Sudani: We have natural resources that enable us to export products outside Iraq
2023-12-02 23:14
Shafaq News/ Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani said on Saturday that Iraq has the natural resources that qualify it to meet the market’s need for local products and export the surplus outside the country.
Al-Sudani said in a speech he delivered during the launch of the activities of the Industrial Partnerships Forum in Basra, that this government has placed reform of the economy among its five priorities, and no economic reform in any country like Iraq can, or change the philosophy of a mono-economic state relying on oil by relying on the industrial sectors, agriculture and tourism. And trade.
He added, “We have the natural resources to establish a sustainable and advanced industry that meets the needs of the local market. It could also be an industry that leads to exporting its products outside Iraq.”
Al-Sudani also pointed out, “In light of this program, this priority, and the precise understanding of the importance of diversifying the economy, supporting industry, and investing existing resources, we must make practical and procedural developments, as we cannot remain watching Iraq always be a consumer market for imported goods.”
He stressed that “the state cannot meet the needs of job opportunities for our graduates and job seekers, as the state cannot employ all these huge numbers, especially since we are talking about human wealth in this country, the majority of which are young people.”
The Prime Minister noted that one direct job opportunity in the industrial sector generates 4-6 indirect job opportunities in other sectors, stressing that investing in human capital and providing it with skills, training, and capabilities is one of the government’s most important goals.
He added: It is time for our economy to be linked to the global economic cycle and to establish a strong industrial base that supports stability, stressing that
Industrial entrepreneurship must be supported to meet local need and integrate with regional and international industries.
Al-Sudani pointed out that the private sector, according to 2020 estimates, accounts for 81% of the total number of existing industrial units, compared to 11% for government companies, and 1% for mixed companies, indicating that the percentage of contribution to total industrial production is still led by government general industrial companies.
He went on to say: We need the private sector to contribute to industrial production for the food, pharmaceutical, construction and mining industries, adding:
We suffered greatly from commercial partnerships that harmed government companies.
Al-Sudani touched on the existence of partnerships that he described as “successful,” and that they “contributed to adding production lines and qualifying workers,” saying: We seek to empower the private industrial sector through ownership of industrial units and contributing to production.
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