“The Missing Sovereign Decision”: An Iraqi-German Initiative to Revive Tourism Away from Oil
“The Missing Sovereign Decision”: An Iraqi-German Initiative to Revive Tourism Away from Oil
2026-06-13
Shafaq News – Baghdad
The Private Sector Development Council, in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation, held a workshop on Saturday about the tourism sector in Iraq and the geopolitical challenges in the region.
Tourism as a sovereign alternative to the oil economy
Adham Al-Fakhar, the Prime Minister’s Advisor for International Investments, said in a speech during the workshop that “tourism is one of the sovereign indicators of any country as it is one of the important sectors in supporting the economy,” stressing the need to develop the tourism sector as it is a “neglected” sector through investment and empowering Iraqi companies, as well as diversifying economic revenues and moving towards the private sector in all fields and expanding it.
For his part, the Director General of the Department of Economic and Financial Policies at the Ministry of Planning, Sabah Jundi Mansour, stated that the tourism sector represents one of the promising sectors in the Iraqi economy due to the country’s diverse tourism assets, including its ancient cultural heritage, historical and religious sites, as well as its cultural and natural diversity, which qualifies it to be a distinguished tourist destination at the regional and international levels.
Mansour added that the government views tourism as an important pillar in economic diversification efforts, and an effective source for generating job opportunities, stimulating local development and increasing non-oil revenues, which requires developing the tourism infrastructure adopted by the National Development Plan (2024-2028) within its objectives.
Effects of regional war and geopolitical issues
In addition, the second deputy of the Private Sector Development Council, Abdullah Al-Jubouri, confirmed that geopolitical influences have greatly affected the tourism sector, as it is affected by any setback that occurs, especially in light of the war that the region is going through.
As the head of the Tourism Authority, Nasser Ghanem, explained: “We are not meeting today to discuss only the service sector, but rather to discuss one of the pillars of Iraq’s economic sovereignty, and a strategic path that will reintroduce our country to the world as a renewed cultural, historical, and human center, and a pivotal station in the path of economic transformation and consolidation as one of the basic pillars in building a diversified and sustainable national economy.”
Ghanem pointed out that the tourism sector has the potential to be at the forefront of productive sectors, especially in light of the economic transformations the world is witnessing, stressing that developing tourism is no longer an option, but a sovereign decision and a binding national path that requires radical reforms.
German partnership to support economic transformation
For his part, the representative of the German Agency for International Cooperation, Zaid Abu Tabikh, said: “We are working with the Ministry of Planning and the Private Sector Development Council on the Strengthening Economic Transformation (SET) project, funded by the German government, which aims to support the creation of better framework conditions for economic transformation in Iraq, which is in line with the common goals of the German and Iraqi governments aimed at promoting stability, resilience and sustainable economic growth.”
Workshop topics and participating entities
The workshop witnessed a discussion of a number of topics including: tourist hotels, religious tourism, academic studies of universities and tourism institutes, general tourism, travel, tourism, aviation and transportation companies, tourism investments and the role of cooperative societies in revitalizing the tourism sector.
shafaq.com
