Saudi Arabia is moving to invest 1 million hectares of agricultural land in Iraq
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Saudi Arabia is aiming to invest 1 million hectares (hectares) of Iraqi land in order to turn it into farms and farms for cattle, livestock and poultry, making it the largest agricultural investment project in Iraq at all, benefiting from the experiences of its companies such as Almarai and others .
The agency "Anatolia" Turkish, today (January 10, 2019), "The project is expected to be held in the provinces of Anbar provinces west of the country; to the south in the province of Muthanna, but the desert of Najaf province separate them ."
Anbar and Muthanna are on the northern and north-eastern borders of Saudi Arabia .
The project is being circulated in the Joint Coordinating Council of the two countries, which was established in October 2017. It is the result of the efforts of the government of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who sought to find a delicate balance in the relations between the competing regional states .
"Iraqi-Saudi relations have been clearly open since Haidar al-Abadi became prime minister in 2014, and last year, after defeating the terrorist organization, Iraq's foreign policy requires a balance at the regional and international levels, " said Iraqi political analyst Ahmad al-Miyali. .
He added that "what Iraq witnessed was not far from the conflicts in the region, so the policy of the government of Abadi tended to establish balanced relations between Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and the United States ."
"It is better for Saudi Arabia to have a role in investments in various economic sectors in Iraq, rather than playing a negative role as it did during 2012 and 2013, when it supported popular anti-government protests, " he said.
"It is important to transfer regional competition in Iraq from political to economic, and open the way for various countries in a balanced way to work in Iraq ."
Relations between Iraq and Saudi Arabia were severed following Saddam's invasion of Kuwait in the early 1990s .
Relations between the two countries resumed after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, but they were shy because of Saudi reservations about Iran's growing role in Iraq, before it gradually improved under Ebadi .
The Joint Coordinating Council has concluded 16 memorandums of understanding so far, four of which have resulted in agreements on the ground, including the conduct of flights and a maritime transport line .
According to the Turkish agency, Iran is "the most prominent regional player in Iraq because of its close ties with the Shiite rulers of Iraq, who were supported by Tehran during the opposition of the regime of Saddam Hussein ."
The growing role of Iran in Iraq has raised big Saudi concerns, and Riyadh feels that Tehran is encircling it in its northern border .
Therefore, the project may be a golden opportunity for Saudi Arabia to secure its borders and find a foothold in Iraq and counter Iranian influence, according to the agency .
"Saudi Arabia may have security and political motives for such a project. Saudi Arabia views Iraq as a national security zone for it by virtue of the neighborhood and sectarian expansion in some provinces," he said.
"There was a political and security motive under the abaya for the project to balance Iran's influence in Iraq, " he said. " This is not a problem for Iraq if competition is to build projects and employ the unemployed ."
Over many years of security tensions and wars, many traditional Iraqi politicians have become convinced that Baghdad must distance itself from regional conflict and rivalry and establish balanced relations with all .
"It is no secret that Saudi Arabia is seeking to expand political influence in Iraq by establishing relations with Shiite forces and strengthening relations with Sunni forces. These efforts have resulted in good relations between Saudi Arabia and the Shiite parties led by Sadr's leader Moqtada al-Sadr, Former Minister Haider Abadi . "
"But relations and investments have not yet reached the required level, as political forces still refuse to even name Saudi Arabia, " he said.
"Far from hidden targets, it seems that the Iraqi government is sticking more than Saudi Arabia to the project in an effort to attract massive investment to its somewhat turbulent environment," the Turkish agency said.
"Any Arab country, including Saudi Arabia, wants to invest in Iraq .
"The project will absorb unemployment and employ thousands of farmers, unemployed and veterinarians, all of which will undoubtedly serve the country, " he said.
"The capital is cowardly, and every investor wants guarantees that will serve him, so speech is easier than implementing the project on the ground, " he said.
He added: "Many Arab countries have expressed their willingness to contribute to the reconstruction of Iraq after a war and to promote investment projects, but the question here: When will come? We want to conclude actual contracts and not only to make promises and to exchange visits of official delegations to no avail . "
The Iraqi government is counting on the project to turn the semi-desert Badia into productive agricultural land that could become a global food basket because of high groundwater levels .
The project is estimated to provide jobs for at least 60,000 people, covering Iraq's domestic need for agricultural and animal products, as well as exporting the surplus .
The percentage of arable land in Iraq is 27% of the total area of the country, equivalent to 48 million acres (dunum equivalent to 1000 square meters), but the actual use does not exceed 12 million only .
Iraq imports more than 75 percent of its food needs and 91 percent of other goods from outside the country, putting a heavy strain on its budget covered by oil revenues .
"There are state-owned agricultural lands ready to invest depending on the irrigation system," said Mahdi Mahdi al-Qaisi, a former Iraqi agriculture ministry undersecretary .
"Iraq is seeking to attract capital and technology related to agriculture to revive this sector and localize expertise, " said Qaisi, who recently retired .
He pointed out that the Saudi and Iraqi sides have not yet concluded any final agreement on the investment of one million hectares .
Al-Qaisi stressed that the Iraqi government has a clear approach to openness to neighboring countries politically, economically and commercially .
The Iraqi government says it needs $ 88 billion over 10 years to rebuild what has been devastated by the violent war against the Da'sh organization over three years (2014-2017 ).
"The Iraqi government must achieve the required balance between the regional powers (Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey), as well as the United States of America, which will positively affect Iraq, and manage this conflict in a way that serves the interests of Iraq, " he said.
He added that "the current Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi is a man of dialogue, and is able to find a calm approach between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the country, Iran has a green light to work in Iraq, and if the normalization of conditions with Saudi Arabia as required, all parties will be satisfied and will reflect Positive for Iraqi interests . "
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