Iraq sees Iraq as one of the most failed countries to attract investment

Iraq sees Iraq as one of the most failed countries to attract investment


 The range / Zahraa al-Jassim

In conjunction with a call by Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi during the opening of a large shopping mall in Baghdad last Saturday for businessmen to invest in various sectors, a classification of the Basel index of anti-money laundering issued by the Basel Institute of Governance in Switzerland was published on Monday, On the countries most at risk of investment, according to the rate of risk and risk in investment for 2017, has been excluded Syria and Iraq and other countries of the classification, being failing countries to attract and attract foreign investment because of corruption and wars in these countries.


Economic experts stressed that the invitation of the Prime Minister and the previous invitations can not move anything unless the move to improve the business environment in Iraq, while the time of an economist suggested the formation of a high-level committee linked to the Supreme Investment Committee, headed by the Prime Minister, studying challenges and overcome them , As the solutions suggest and follow-up implementation, and show the importance of investment in the industrial, agricultural and health sectors and even the transport and housing sectors because it is the income of the country, unlike investment in malls, which is a consumer activity of the Iraqi economy, stressing the need for the government to provide guarantees to the investor without A can not invest in Iraq.
The Basel Institute for Governance is an independent, non-profit center specializing in the study of anti-corruption, public governance and money laundering, criminal law enforcement and the recovery of stolen assets.
Amer al-Jawahri said in an interview with "Majdat" that nothing can move with all these calls if there is no move to improve the business environment in Iraq. The first step is human beings. Human capabilities must be flexible in dealing and eliminating routine. And this should be in this aspect guidance and seminars, as suggested to address the situation to form a high-level committee called the Business Environment Committee linked to the Supreme Investment Committee, headed by the Prime Minister, and this must consider all the challenges and obstacles and overcome them as they propose solutions and follow and implement , And not only because Iraq has died No proposals.
Al-Jawahiri said that the statement by Iraqi officials to bring investors only is not enough, because the fact that the owners of the business have their sensors, today any investor reviews the Registrar of companies and see the queries how to deal with citizens, find that there is an unwelcome approach to the citizen even if begging sympathy for them, which is strange because "Things are not dealt with in this way, but the work in Iraq needs real measures on the ground and not calls and theorizing and proposals. The treatment should educate people, employees and even workers in the private sector in how to act and deal in the investment circles to receive citizens with welcome Lynn was treated.
On the other hand, economic expert Dargham Mohamed Ali suggests in an interview for (extent), the need for green areas for investment, which is like free zones where the investor gets the land ready for investment with known areas and a fence in which the services are available, activities that can be determined by the Investment Authority or the Commission These areas are protected by the state and here the government can apply the paragraph of the single window within these confined areas, because the one window currently is not present in the law and is not activated and unrealistic because of the failure of the State departments to comply with the investment law because of the existence of old laws in D It is the state that applies in lieu of the investment law.
Ali stresses the importance of working to accelerate and smooth transactions and overcome some of the problems faced by the investor, including blackmail from the parties to the window so that the acquisition of a piece of land may take months, and continues: All these things are obstacles facing the investor and make him think a thousand times before submitting to Investment in Iraq, adding: as it is very difficult to invest in Iraq by industrial or agricultural projects, and the investment remains limited to the projects of the malls as they are often on the land of exchange or taken from the state high rents, and these investments do not serve the national economy, Is a consumer activity of Iraqi income b And to divert Iraqi funds abroad.
The economic expert concluded by saying that the industrial, agricultural, health and transport investments in addition to investments in the housing sector are all sources of income for the country. Therefore, these investment calls must be accompanied by procedures. The government should send messages to reassure the investor that new procedures Will be applied on the ground and given a time limit for the completion of leave and land to the investor, because all investors who came to Iraq collided with government routine and non-response of the state departments as well as blackmail, which were exposed to it, and without guarantees of fact can not invest in Iraq.
The view of the investment sector in Iraq that the talk of obstacles to investment was and still exists since 2003 until now without the existence of a few solutions, where the various government departments refrain from making facilities that help to implement investment projects, and the phenomenon of financial and administrative corruption is widespread, whether through manipulation Which has led to increased bribery and corruption, hindering investment and development, and the suffering of municipal departments, tax, electricity, water and sewage from the scourge of corruption, with a weak culture of investment among citizens, and imbalances in government banking systems and non-cooperation In support of the investment sector and investors, not to mention the dominance of the public sector on most of the large investments in the country and not allow the private sector to invest.

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