Calls for broad economic reform: A government advisor outlines the path to transformation in Iraq.
Calls for broad economic reform: A government advisor outlines the path to transformation in Iraq.
2026/05/21
The financial advisor to the Prime Minister, Mazhar Muhammad Saleh, stressed today, Thursday, the importance of activating the Market Development Council to support the modern economy in Iraq, while emphasizing the need to invest in five million dunams of agricultural land that were damaged by desertification.
Saleh said in a press statement followed by Al-Furat News that “the government program aims at institutional reform, and describing institutions with their mechanisms and performance, as Iraq has a large number of institutions that are also weak,” indicating that rebuilding Iraqi institutions is a very important matter, because the large capacity without oversight has drained the Iraqi state.
He added that “government institutions have become bloated and large and constitute a burden on the national economy, so that they have become market-based, meaning that market institutions are being stifled by heavy state institutions.”
He pointed out that “economic reform begins with reforming old institutions and their laws and facilitating procedures,” explaining that “many administrative complexities have become inherited and are not based on a legal basis.”
He added that “young leaders are important in the economic reform process, as they possess a mindset of development, openness and change.”
Regarding building a diversified national economy, he stated that “coexisting with a rentier oil economy and relying on the budget is one of the fundamental problems,” calling for “turning towards all available non-oil resources.”
He pointed out that “Iraq has natural resources that have not been invested in, and the private sector has not been allowed to partner and invest in them,” noting that “our mission today is for the national and international private sector to partner with the government, using the latest technologies, to re-engage all of Iraq’s resources.”
He explained that “the agricultural sector represents the first starting point through the agricultural sovereignty and agricultural licensing project,” indicating that “Iraq owns five million dunams of land affected by desertification, and a joint governmental-private holding company can be established on it, in cooperation with international companies, such as agricultural licensing rounds.”
He added that “this step will lead to a green revolution starting with four or five million dunams that will secure Iraqi food security.”
He continued, “The digital economy is a key focus in the reform process, through the creation of a strong institutional entity that oversees the digital cloud, cybersecurity, and attracting modern technology.”
He pointed out that “the Market Development Council represents the link between the state and the private sector,” stressing “the importance of redefining the council and activating it to support the birth of the modern economy in Iraq.”
alforatnews.iq
