An advisor to the Prime Minister outlines a roadmap for economic diversification in Iraq.
An advisor to the Prime Minister outlines a roadmap for economic diversification in Iraq.
15/11/2025
The Prime Minister’s Advisor for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, said that the Iraqi government assesses its ability to diversify sources of income as a long-term strategic challenge, especially since oil accounts for nearly 90% of public revenues and half of the gross domestic product, and its export revenues represent the country’s foreign inflows, stressing that excessive dependence on oil makes the economy fragile in the face of fluctuations in the global energy market.
Saleh added to Al-Furat News Agency that: “Progress in this field still faces structural and institutional obstacles, despite it being one of the basics of implementing the government program that was approved by the House of Representatives in October 2022, as economic diversification in the fields of energy, industry, tourism, digital services and agriculture has taken center stage in the work of the executive authority and the approved draft laws.
He pointed out that the government’s strategic framework and political will were formulated through the roadmap launched with the National Development Plan (2024–2028), and in accordance with the data of Iraq Vision 2050, all of which point to strategic objectives for diversifying the economy and building highly cohesive non-oil sectors (agriculture, renewable energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and the digital economy). He explained that the availability of these plans is important but not sufficient without rigorous, continuous, and sustained implementation that transcends electoral cycles.
He explained that “the goal of the partnership between the state and the private sector has become the first strategic buffer that protects the country from its dependence on a single resource, noting that the diversification policy was launched strongly from the single oil sector itself by manufacturing crude oil and converting it into derivatives and products, towards replacing imports of oil derivatives and being satisfied with the national product after operating giant refineries, and the future direction towards exporting oil products with high added value, which is a first step that will provide between 3% to 5% direct and immediate space in diversifying the gross domestic product in one go, and this path is running in the digital services sector, agriculture, tourism and others in cooperation with the private sector.”
Saleh identified the current path towards containing the financial and real deficit in the macroeconomy, as follows: First: Giving priority to investment in productive infrastructure immediately, especially the electricity generation sector (solar projects and gas investment), making qualitative shifts in water and transportation management, and proceeding with logistics infrastructure projects that link the agricultural and industrial sectors to regional markets, as they generate sustainable employment and reduce the cost of business. Modern solar energy projects represent a practical example of reducing spending and strengthening sustainable economic growth.
He added, “Work is also underway to reform public sector companies and government institutions by increasing efficiency through restructuring energy, ports and railway companies, improving governance mechanisms and involving the efficient and productive private sector in what are called Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).”
He also stressed the importance of “enhancing non-oil revenues by expanding the fair tax base, adopting a productive tax policy based on improving the collection of taxes and customs duties, coordinating fair tax policies without harming the incentive for investment and production, and improving property and land rules to attract industrial and agricultural investment within the framework of national development plans.”
Saleh continued, “Governance and digital investment in successful macro-administration remain important assets in accelerating economic diversification, especially adopting mechanisms for evaluating and holding public projects accountable by adopting what is called the Project Evaluation Portal (CPMS) to evaluate the economic, social and environmental feasibility before the start of funding, and performance indicators linking spending to achieving tangible results within a systematic long-term approach to implementing the principles of program and performance budgets, which should be expanded and adopted gradually in cooperation between planning, financial and oversight bodies to achieve the goals of sustainable development and financial strengthening of the country.”
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