Iraqi industry... hostage to political "agendas"

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[size=52]Iraqi industry... hostage to political "agendas"[/size]

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2024-08-17
Since the nineties of the last century, the Iraqi industry began to disappear due to the international blockade that overthrew the country's economy, which led to a serious setback whose effects were reflected in factories, plants and workshops, and production opportunities diminished to a great extent until they reached a stage of complete recession in 2003, when the doors of import were opened wide, but specialists confirm that there is a political will that deliberately disrupts local production.[/size]
[size=45]In this regard, Yasser Al-Husseini, a member of the Parliamentary Industry Committee, said during a conversation
, “There is a political will that has disrupted various local industries for many years, and it is still disrupting that industry, in addition to an external political and economic will that is working on this disruption.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hussaini added, “The industrial sector in Iraq is still neglected and not really active in the local market, which suffers from the invasion of imported goods. This is part of the policy of destroying the Iraqi economy and maintaining reliance on imports in the first place.”[/size]
[size=45]He points out that “the House of Representatives strongly supports, through legislation and oversight, the strengthening of national industry in all its forms, but this matter remains dependent on political will, which we believe is still absent, and for this reason Iraq will remain without industry, no matter how much some government agencies try to develop it during the next stage.”[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that the Industrial Coordination Council held its first meeting a few days ago, headed by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, and took a number of decisions and measures, including the importance of integration between the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and the rest of the governorates in developing the national industry, and that major markets will be activated by the Ministry of Trade in partnership with the private sector and will be a place to display local industrial products.[/size]
[size=45]The Iraqi industry has turned into a political “commodity” that the heads of government are trying to achieve a media achievement with and to increase their popular support only, according to what observers see, and they confirm the absence of any real solutions to support it, whether by imposing taxes on imported goods or contributing to their marketing internally. They confirmed that supporting this industry, especially the electrical industry, will constitute a large financial resource for the state.[/size]
[size=45]For his part, economic expert Nasser Al-Kanani explained, during an interview with “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed”, that “reactivating the national industry is important to strengthen the Iraqi economy. This will strengthen Iraq economically internally and externally, and this industry will reduce foreign imports, and this has important economic factors, most notably reducing the outflow of hard currency abroad.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Kanani points out that “the current Iraqi government has been in power for a long time, but until now we have not seen any real activation of the industrial sector, nor even any government support for the private sector rather than the government sector, and this certainly weakens the national economy, and therefore the economy is still fragile.”[/size]
[size=45]He explained that “Iraq cannot rely solely on import operations, and in return for that, it must continue to rely on oil to support the state budget. There must be a national industry that constitutes a basic resource to support the state treasury, as this is an important economic matter to enhance the state’s resources.”[/size]
[size=45]On May 2, 2023, during the Mineral Investment Conference held in Baghdad, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said, “Iraq is capable of producing a national industry that rivals what is produced in Arab countries... We will not remain spectators while Iraq remains a consumer market, but rather there will be national production.”[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that Iraq has official companies that are still active and productive, such as textiles and electrical industries, which bear the names “Ishtar” and “Al-Qithara” for their products, in addition to food products, such as dairy products.[/size]
[size=45]It is worth noting that most of these local products are sold in corporate centers, or limited offices only, and have not reached the local market, which is full of imported goods.[/size]
[size=45]In contrast, political researcher Muhammad Ali al-Hakim warns, during an interview with “Al-Alam al-Jadeed”, that “the file of reviving the national industry is a political file more than it is an economic file, and therefore there are internal and external political parties that do not want a real revival of the national industry, so that the local market continues to live on imports.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Hakim explains that “the Iraqi government is weaker than that political will that does not want to restore the national industry, which is an industry with high efficiency and excellent quality, with various products. Therefore, all the movements of the current government and even the next one will face many obstacles that prevent it from any real success in restoring the national industry.”[/size]
[size=45]He stresses that “the current Iraqi government has formed many coordination councils for industry and other issues, and they have been holding meetings for many months, but on the ground so far there is nothing tangible from these councils, and most of the government’s decisions are more media-related than real.”[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” has previously highlighted the local industry, especially the companies of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, and economic specialists attributed the weakness to corruption and weak marketing, and confirmed that the ministry’s factories are almost paralyzed, while they indicated that the correct way is to import tools and for the industry to be called a semi-factory, in order to create job opportunities domestically and for the process to proceed according to this pattern.[/size]
[size=45]It is noteworthy that the phosphate, fertilizer, brick, putty and pharmaceutical factories are all stopped or almost stopped, although they are intertwined with the agricultural and industrial sectors.[/size]
[size=45]The industrial sector in Iraq in general, which is supposed to contribute to employing many segments of society, has been facing a major deterioration since 2003 until now, in light of the shutdown of most factories and the shift towards imports. The Federation of Iraqi Industries estimated years ago the percentage of stalled projects at 40 thousand projects, and successive government programs always include the topic of stimulating the economy and local industry, but without fulfilling any promise. Rather, trade exchange with countries in the region continues while neglecting local industry.[/size]
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