Iraq – Past Present and Future
Dr.
Mozammel Haque
Conservative
Foreign Commonwealth Council (CFCC) Organised an event entitled “Iraq-Past,
Present and Future” on 29 April 2019 at the House of Parliament; Committee Room
G.
Opening Address by
Lord Sheikh
Lord
Sheikh addressed the Lords, Members of Parliament and the Ambassador.
Iraq’s Culture and Heritage
Lord
Sheikh begin by making a point about Iraq’s culture and heritage. Iraq is a very ancient nation and is
recognised as the earliest Cradle of Civilisation.
Iraq – Earliest Cradle of Civilization
Lord
Sheikh said, “Historically known as ‘Mesopotamia’, the region’s people became
the first bankers, created the wheel, the plough and the first written
alphabet. The area has been a home for successive civilisation since the 6th
millennium BC. It was in Iraq that mankind began to read, write create laws and
also live in cities. The two major rivers, Tigress and Euphrates, run south
through Iraq, which provides Iraq with significant amounts of fertile land. Iraq
served humanity by creating and adopting many advanced techniques of farming
and trading as well as adopting a rich culture of poetry and literature. The
success of this civilisation led to the modern world we experience today.”
Present History of Iraq
Speaking
about the present history of Iraq Lord Sheikh said, “Iraq has a population of
37 million and its major languages are Arabic and Kurdish. Iraq has had a
complex modern history which I am sure you are all aware of. Unfortunately,
Iraq has been a battleground for competing forces following US-led invasion
which ousted Saddam Hussein in 2003. I feel that the Iraqis have made
significant progress. The country has approved a new constitution and held
successful elections for Parliament and provisional governments. The progress
in peace is perhaps exemplified by the fact that Iraq’s oldest Christian town
called Hamdaniya has just celebrated Easter again after the defeat of Isis.”
Six important steps
going forward
Lord
Sheikh mentioned six important steps moving forward. He said, “I believe there
are six important steps going forward now that there is peace in Iraq. These
are:
1) Continued
stability;
2) Reconstruction;
3) Reconciliation
between the Shia and Sunni communities;
4) Advancement
of education;
5) Development
of trade;
6) Advancement
of tourism.
In
regard to reconciliation between Shias and Sunnis I would like to emphasise
that people have asked me whether I am a Shia or Sunni, my answer always is
that I am a Muslim.”
Iraq’s Diaspora in the
UK
Lord
Sheikh mentioned about the Iraq’s Diaspora in the United Kingdom. He said, “I
strongly believe in the concept of Ummah. Iraq’s diaspora in the United Kingdom
is doing very well. I have met some members of the Iraqi diaspora who are doing
well in every walk of life in the UK. I feel that we should encourage the
diaspora to strengthen and expand the trade and other ties between the UK and
Iraq. I may add that I am actively involved in promoting trade between the UK
and overseas countries and I am undertaking some effective activities to
achieve this. In fact, over the last year, I have been a speaker at trade
conferences held in London to strengthen and maintain trade relations between
the UK and the following countries: Morocco, Nigeria, Papa New Guinea, Sudan,
Tunisia and Ethiopia.”
Lord
Sheikh felt that the country has huge potential and he wanted to talk more
about increasing our trade with Iraq.
Attraction to
investors
Speaking
about the investment opportunities in Iraq, Lord Sheikh mentioned, “I feel that
due to Iraq’s increasing stability, it is an excellent investment location in
the Middle East. Iraq is the 43rd largest export economy in the
world. The top exports of Iraq are: Crude and refined petroleum, gold,
petroleum gas and tropical fruits. Iraq’s top imports are: jewellery, packaged
medicaments, poultry meat, cars and gold. Iraq’s real GDP is estimated to have
grown by 0.6 percent in 2018 and the non-oil economy grew at 4 percent. Indeed,
Iraq’s growth is expected to spike to 8.1 percent in 2020 and non-oil growth is
expected to remain positive. Iraq’s attraction to investors is strengthened by
the fact that Iraq has signed several trade agreements with its neighbours
which has given its economy a boost.”
Regional hub for
trade and investment
Speaking
about Iraq’s future, Lord Sheikh said, “looking to Iraq’s future as a strategic
commanding basis and regional hub for trade and investment.” He said, “Our
support for Iraq will therefore be £2 billion. This will help to provide jobs,
increase infrastructure capability and promote Iraq’s economic development and
ability to address the needs of Iraqi citizens. This will promote Iraq’s
economic development and nation building.”
Education and Cultural Links
Lord
Sheikh said that he was not only keen to promote trade links but also
educational and cultural links. “Education is extremely important to me. Six
months ago, I spoke at a conference which aimed to address higher education in
Iraq. I would like to see more educational links between the two countries. I
would also like to make the point clear that links between universities can
have an invaluable impact of the development of students.”
Tourism
Lord
Sheikh also spoke about tourism. He said, “In Iraq, there are Muslim shrines
and mosques which are visited by thousands of Muslims from the UK every year.
We should however encourage more Muslims as well as non-Muslims to visit the
country.
We
should therefore promote tourism of every type. Iraq is indeed very keen to
promote its culture in the UK. I did in fact attend an exhibition organised by
His Excellency, the Ambassador, to show the beautiful buildings and areas of
Iraq.”
The Ambassador of
Iraq
H.E. Dr. Salih Husain
Addressing
the gathering in the House of Parliament, the Ambassador of Iraq first of all
gave a political picture of his country. He first gave a picture of the most
recent general elections held in May 2018.
Results of General
Elections
Dr.
Salih Husain said, “I shall begin with
the results of the most recent general elections; the general elections were
held on May 2018 and led to the following parliamentarian representation: Saeroun
54 seats, 2- Al-Fatih 47 seats, 3- Al-Nasir 42 seats, 4-
State of the Law 26 seats, 5- KDP 25 seats, 6- Al-Wataniya 21
seats, 7- Al-Hikma 19 seats, 8- PUK 18 seats, 9- Al-Qarar 11
seats and
other small parties collectively 57 seats. Under the quota system, the
Christians got 5 seats, and Chabak, Yazidi, Subbi and Faili got 1
seat each.”
“The 2018 general elections have shown positive
outcomes like: Formation of cross-sectarian blocs like Al-Nasir, headed by the
former Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi. His bloc has achieved high votes in the
Sunni dominated city of Mosul. Formation of alliances between Islamists and Liberals.
The 2018 parliament has saw 70% new members, which reflects the voters’ will
for change. The Speaker of the Parliament and the President of the state were
both elected freely by the members of the parliament,” the Ambassador of Iraq
mentioned.
Positive Outcomes of the elections
Speaking about the formation of Iraqi
government after the general elections, Iraqi Ambassador said, “The 2018
parliament is divided into 2 main blocs each consisting of Shia, Sunni and
Kurds members. The elected Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Al-Halbousi is 35
years old, and this represents a turn in the old mentality towards giving the
youth more participation in decision making and governance. The Prime Minister
Adel Abdul Mahdi is an independent politician and he is not affiliated with a
specific political party, hence all political parties represented in the
parliament have voted confident to his cabinet.”
Kurdish Participation in the Government
Speaking about the Kurdish participation in the
government, the Iraqi Ambassador mentioned, "Following the Referendum and
its aftermath, the Kurds have effectively participated in this government with
3 ministers. The Ministerial Program Agenda voted by the Parliament has pledged
to find a breakthrough for the disputed issues between Baghdad and the Iraqi
Kurdistan Region. On the disputed issues between the federal government and the
Iraqi Kurdistan regional government, the federal budget law has dealt with some
financial issues like: 75 m$ will be allocated to the electricity projects in
the Kurdistan Region of Iraq from the JICA (Japan International Cooperation
Agency) total loan estimated at 756 m$, approximately 10% of the federal loan
will be allocated to the KRI. 1.6 m$ to the KRI from the 430 m$ loan from the
World Bank.”
The Iraqi Ambassador also mentioned, “The
Federal Government is committed to pay the dues of the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq, including the compensation of the employees of the KRI. The Federal
Government and the provinces of the Kurdistan region are obliged to transfer
revenues to the state treasury when there is an increase in the exported
quantities of oil. Despite the surge given to the new Iraqi Government, the
ministers of Defence and Interior are still to be appointed due to the lack of
political consensus on proper candidates for both positions.”
Programme of Iraqi Government
Iraqi Government wants to achieve following
main tasks, mentioned Dr. Husain and added, “The Ministerial Program Agenda of
the Iraqi Government 2018 – 2022 vowed to work on 5 main tasks as follows:
“Completion of building the foundations of the
federal state and its republican parliamentary system, through the activation of the Constitution
and the internal laws of the ministries, restructuring of the Council of
Ministers, development of governance systems, strengthening the national
cohesion and preventing the exploitation of freedoms and damaging the public
right.
The rule of law and the strengthening of
internal and external security, through
combating terrorism, law enforcement, combating corruption and public waste,
promoting reliance on smart and electronic systems and strengthening external
relations away from axis policy.
Optimum investment of energy and water
resources.
The Iraqi Government will achieve this through:
Accelerating the increase and
maintenance of export outlets of crude oil through Turkey and Jordan as a
strategic and economic necessity,” mentioned the Iraqi Ambassador.
Services and Human
Community Development
About this,
the Ambassador of Iraq mentioned how the Iraqi Government will achieve this.
He mentioned this will be achieved through:
Education: “The Ministry of Education continues to build schools in partnership
between the public and private sector. To provide genuine twinning for Iraqi
universities with international universities. Encouraging the establishment of
private universities with international standards and qualities, and
introducing distance education,” Dr. Husain mentioned.
Rebuilding Health Centres: “Accelerate the assessment of the health
situation of the displaced and improve the health services provided to them,
and to prioritize the rebuilding of health centres in the governorates that
were damaged during the recent military operations,” he said.
Assist Iraqi Youth: “Develop practical measures to immunize and
assist Iraqi youth to discover their abilities, competencies and connections
and to stay away from harmful behaviours, habits and health. Reviving the work
of the youth institution in the task of organizing and supporting young people
to practice their hobbies in different fields cultural, artistic, scientific
and sports. Motivating outstanding talents each in its own field of
specialization, and encouraging the culture of voluntary work in the social,
national and humanitarian issues for the development of youth capabilities.
Working with international and local organizations and the international
community to secure the return of the displaced people to their towns and
villages with a fixed timetable to be completed in a period of two years,” the
Iraqi Ambassador mentioned.
Promoting Children’s Theatre: “Promoting the children's theatre and the
production of plays and various events to young people, such as visits to
diverse areas of Iraq, museums, scouting and sports activities to develop their
sense of patriotism,” Dr. Husain said.
Promoting tourism: “Promoting tourism and facilitating the entry
of tourists into Iraq in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
the Ministry of Interior,” the Ambassador said.
Strengthening the
economy
The Iraqi Ambassador
Dr. Salih Husain also mentioned how the Iraqi government will strengthen
economy “through promoting the principle of "made in Iraq", and projects made with "Iraqi
hands", and to reduce imports and encourage exports, and restore
confidence in ourselves and our experts and universities to implement the
projects.”
He also said, “We will seek foreign expertise
whenever needed but the priority is to invest in our graduates, youth and
unemployed and develop our expertise and our economy. Monitor internal and
external debt and prevent it from exceeding specific levels, and linking the
internal and external debt to investment projects and self-generating values
and wealth projects.”
“Open the door for foreign investment in the
field of transformative and heavy industries and encouraging international
brands to manufacture their products partially or entirely in Iraq. Establishment
of the youth employment project and encourage them to establish small and
medium sized companies and offering easy banking facilities with the aim of
reducing unemployment and contribute to the overall development of the country,”
said the Ambassador of Iraq.
Current investment
environment in Iraq
The Ambassador of Iraq Dr.
Husain also highlighted the current investment environment in Iraq. He mentioned, “The current government has been more certain about the importance of
reforms which is a priority in its agenda
besides the focus of the reconstruction plan to rebuild the fundamental
infrastructure sectors including Electricity, Health, education and Industry. Diversifying the
economy and promoting the industrial sector run in parallel lines which need
the engagement and the experience of our friends from the industrial countries
especially the UK.”
He also said, “Iraq’s economy is
transforming into a new level, it is becoming more privatized, which promotes,
encourages and welcomes Investments. Iraq is
trying to attract foreign investors through a review and modification of
legislations and previous laws, and the formation of the supreme council for combating corruption is one further step in
this direction.”
“Investment
opportunities found in Iraq today from Dohuk in the north to Basrah in the
south vary in terms of type, size, scope, sector, and purpose. The door is wide
open for all investors who wish to invest in Iraq. Iraq is characterized by
having numerous features that would attract capitals and investments, due to
the availability of natural resources like Oil, Gas, Minerals, Lands, and Human
resources, as well as the large size of the Iraqi market and the geographic
position which creates opportunities for production, import and export,” Dr.
Husain mentioned.
Golden Investment Incentives
The
Ambassador of Iraq Dr. Husain invited everyone to “think of Iraq as one of the
important places where untapped investment opportunities are available in
various fields and were each sector has a crucial need for investment,” the
Ambassador said and added, “Moreover, there are golden Investment Incentives
and our real desire is to receive and welcome you in Iraq.”
Question and Answer session
There were very interesting Questions
& Answers session where many questions were asked and many comments were made.
I am going to conclude with the comments made by Mr. Peter Friedman, Vice President, Conservative Foreign and Commonwealth
Council who said, “Much of what is taken for granted today, especially in the
fields of mathematics and medicine, can be traced back to the work of Arab
scholars well over a thousand years ago. The outstanding contribution of Iraq
to this very important work deserves to be given prominence and I was delighted
to have the opportunity to do so in the presence of the Iraqi Ambassador.”
At the conclusion of the meeting, Mr. Peter Friedmann
presented a gift to the Ambassador of Iraq, H. E. Dr. Salih Husain.
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