Iraq seeks to overcome foreign investment obstacles: PM

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi met on Sunday with members of the Iraqi-Saudi Coordinating Council, nearly a month after Riyadh pledged to invest additional millions of dollars in Iraq. The PM emphasized his administration’s will to encourage foreign investment in the country ranked near the bottom for its ease of doing business. 

At the meeting, Kadhimi “stated that investment opportunities are available to Saudi companies, stressing that the government seeks to overcome all obstacles facing companies that want to invest in Iraq,” according to a tweet from the PM’s Communications Office. He also “explained the importance of activating some joint projects between the two countries within the framework of the Arab League, as well as developing work in the oil market.”

Saudi Arabia and Iraq agreed in 2017 for the former to turn one million hectares of Iraqi desert in Anbar and Muthanna provinces into farmlands and poultry farms, as reported by Al Jazeera. The kingdom announced in mid-October it would increase their investments in Iraq by 10 billion Saudi riyals ($2.7 billion USD), according to Saudi state media. 

This agreement between the two countries resulted in criticism by a number of Iraqi Shiite political parties. Qais Khazali, leader of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq, released a statement on October 30 slamming the Saudi projects, claiming that the investments in Anbar, Najaf, Muthana, and Basra will damage Iraq's security and stability.

Reports of extortion by armed groups and tribes leading to foreign investors pulling out of Iraq are frequent. Kadhimi acknowledged the problem at a meeting with investors in July, saying the government is implementing measures to halt the practice. 

The Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council was established in October 2017 with the aim of strengthening relations between the two countries.

CORRECTION: This article previously incorrectly stated that Saudi Arabia would increase its investments in Iraq by 266,648,670 USD. It has since been updated.