BAGHDAD: Iraq has signed investment agreements worth one billion dollars with the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private sector arm, to develop its energy, agriculture and finance sectors.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced the new contracts during a ceremony marking two decades of the IFC’s operations in Iraq, involving both private and public sector partners.
The IFC confirmed the investment package will support projects in energy, infrastructure, agribusiness and finance across the country.
“Attracting foreign capital has contributed to supporting Iraq’s economic stability,“ Sudani stated in his address.
His media office specified that the agreements include a five hundred million dollar contract to invest in associated gas and develop gas facilities in the southern province of Basra.
Iraq has been working to overcome decades of conflict and instability that have left its infrastructure and public services in poor condition.
The country has recently achieved a degree of stability and is actively seeking investments to revitalise its economy.
According to the International Monetary Fund, Iraq’s non-oil economic growth remains slow due to low productivity and limited investment.
Sudani praised the Iraqi private sector for continuing to implement projects despite ongoing bureaucratic and security challenges.
The Washington-based IFC has invested and mobilised over two and a half billion dollars for Iraqi projects since 2005. – AFP
