MOP: Iraqi government seeks to diversify sources of income

Baghdad - INA

The Minister of Planning, Khaled Battal, confirmed today, Friday, that the Iraqi government is seeking to diversify sources of income and support development programs.

Battal said, according to a statement issued by the ministry, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA) during his participation in the high-level political forum for sustainable development organized by the United Nations in New York that "Iraq's priorities at this stage are to return to the sound development path to achieve the sustainable development agenda and its goals for the year 2030. ".
He added, "We got out of the war against ISIS terrorist gangs and started to address the financial consequences of the war, the file of the displaced, and the reconstruction and stability of the affected areas.".

He added, "Iraq witnessed a mass movement in 2019 that led to the resignation of the previous government, and the Corona pandemic caused economic problems, which exacerbated the challenges and negatively affected the pursuit of sustainable development goals.".

The Minister of Planning confirmed that "Iraq completed the response document and the pandemic recovery plan in cooperation with international and local partners, and it was launched in 2021.".

In addetion to that, The Planning Minister of assuered that "the drop in oil prices, and Iraq's commitment to the (OPEC +) agreement in 2019 to reduce the share of production and export by 23%, exacerbated the challenges and negatively affected the pursuit of sustainable development goals.".

Furthermore, Battal pointed out that "after the Corona pandemic, the world witnessed a sharp rise in food and energy prices, which cast a heavy shadow on countries with special circumstances, including Iraq, and hampered their efforts to achieve sustainable development goals, and Iraq is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world towards climate issues, in addition to the scarcity of water resources related to the preparation of potable water, agriculture and the flooding of marshes."