PM: The Iraqi decision is national and does not implement the wishes of America, Iran, or Turkey

Baghdad - INA

 Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani confirmed today, Friday, that the Iraqi decision is national and does not implement the wishes of America, Iran, or Turkey, while noting that the battle against ISIS united Iraqis of all sects and components.

Al-Sudani said during the dialogue session he held at the American Council on Foreign Relations, on the sidelines of his visit to New York, in a speech conveyed by his media office in a statement received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA): “Iraq went through a painful experience in confronting terrorism, starting from Al-Qaeda and ending with ISIS, but After the victory over ISIS, we lived a new beginning in Iraq.".

He added, "The battle against ISIS united Iraqis of all sects and components, which made us move beyond the sectarian, nationalist, and ethnic discourse that affected stability.".

He pointed out, "Competition in the political process is taking place today according to constitutional mechanisms, and there are those who go to the Federal Court or participate in the elections, and this is a healthy sign of the stability of the political system.".

Al-Sudani continued, "Our constitution has established mechanisms to carry out the amendment, and it is available and possible for anyone who wishes to amend according to the constitutional paths," pointing out that "there are fears for some components about returning to the presidential system.".

Al-Sudani said, “We do not deny the existence of relations of some political forces with the countries of the region, some of which go back to the period before the change, or what happened later in terms of countries’ support for the political process,” adding, “We do not accept any external party to be a party to bring about change in the entity of the political process.”.

He added, "We went through a difficult stage after the 2021 elections, but everyone adhered to the constitutional contexts and we concluded a political agreement to form the government, which is a sign of maturity in the political process," stressing the necessity of "differentiating between the positive relationship with neighboring countries and the negative relationship that reaches the stage of intervention." “Every transgression and aggression against Iraq is rejected by any party.”.

Al-Sudani continued, “All countries, including America, if they want to establish relations with Iraq, must respect the country’s sovereignty and the will of its people,” explaining, “Iraq is a country of components that have lived in an atmosphere of peace for many years, and trying to penetrate its social fabric will not create stability.”.

He pointed out that "reforming the economic reality is one of the important challenges, which requires diversifying the economy and not adopting economic unilateralism," noting that "the needs of the Iraqis are increasing with their population growth and oil revenues cannot cover them.".

He stressed, "We have a vision for economic reform through which we work to invest wasted resources and direct them to vital sectors, such as agriculture, industry, trade, and tourism," adding, "The development road project, Al-Faw port, and the rest of the projects associated with it, will change the shape of Iraq with a new and diversified economic face.".

He continued, "The importance of investing in associated gas is to address our environmental problems as well, and we have signed agreements to produce electricity from solar energy up to (2,500) megawatts," pointing out that "most of the parties that will participate in the upcoming elections are emerging parties.".

He pointed out, “The theft of the century involved leaders from the highest decision-making centers in Iraq, and senior officials from the previous government were involved, and arrest warrants were issued for them,” noting, “Some of those accused of the theft of the century are in the United States and hold American and British citizenship, and we are waiting for this assistance.”.

He stressed, "The Iraqis are establishing their relations with countries on the basis of their response in handing over those wanted for the theft of the century, and our government will continue to pursue them and subject them to justice, regardless of their positions," pointing out, "More than 3 trillion dinars were stolen within the hearing and sight of the previous government with its security services." and the largest percentage of this money went to banks outside Iraq, and we are working to recover the remainder inside Iraq.”.

Al-Sudani continued, “The Iraqi decision is a national decision that does not implement the wishes of America, Iran, or Turkey, and it is a decision based on the interests of our people,” adding, “We are concerned about the situation in Syria, because it has terrorist hotbeds and areas outside the state’s control, and there are forces from foreign countries. "The instability of Syria threatens the stability of countries in the region.".

He pointed out that "drugs enter from Syria due to the presence of areas outside the control of the state, and Iraq, Jordan, and even the Gulf states suffer from them," noting that "Iraq has many religious and historical tourist sites, and many delegations began to come to Iraq after the visit of the Pope, and the tourism sector." “It falls within the government’s interests.”.

He continued, "We made it clear to the representatives of American companies that we provide all the requirements for a safe environment for investment in Iraq," stressing, "There is no political crisis between Baghdad and the Iraqi Kurdistan region, but rather financial legal problems that have been overcome through dialogue and understanding, and the region is a key actor in the political process, and a part." "It is an important part of our economic projects that benefit the Iraqis.".

Al-Sudani said, “We are currently studying a strategic water management project, the first of its kind in the history of Iraq, in order to make optimal use of it,” pointing out that “the water file represents an existential challenge in Iraq, and the crisis coincided with projects in upstream countries that affected our water shares.” There is intense diplomatic work with neighboring countries."
He concluded by saying: “We are working on a Gulf water desalination project to provide water to Basra and the rest of the southern governorates.”