Planning Minister receives the Australian Ambassador to Iraq

Baghdad-INA
Minister of Planning Muhammad Ali Tamim announced on Wednesday, the completion of the five-year development plan for the years 2024-2028.
 
A statement from the ministry, received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), stated that “Minister of Planning, Muhammad Ali Tamim, today received the Australian Ambassador to Iraq, Glenn Miles, and his accompanying delegation, where the meeting, which was attended by the Director General of International Cooperation, Saher Abdul Kadhim, witnessed the discussion of a number of related issues and files common interest.”

During the meeting, the Minister of Planning appreciated "the support provided by Australia to Iraq's efforts in various areas of development.”
 
The statement pointed to "the completion of the five-year development plan for the years 2024-2028, and the priorities it included to achieve sustainable development goals, keep pace with challenges, and make use of natural resources, most notably rationalizing water use, combating desertification, and confronting climate change, by finding innovative solutions and treatments, as well as moving towards... Building integrated, environmentally friendly residential cities, and developing solutions and programs to address unemployment by encouraging employment in the private sector.”
 
It continued, "The plan aims to expand the field of renewable energy, benefit from solar energy, to provide electrical energy, reduce dependence on fossil fuels, and work to establish 4 solar energy plants in the governorates of Muthanna, Karbala, Anbar, and Kirkuk."
 
The Minister of Planning stressed "the ministry's preparations to conduct the general census of population and housing on the twentieth of next November, and its strategic importance, in highlighting development gaps and drawing a picture of the Iraqi reality in all development sectors," calling on "Australian companies to take advantage of the investment opportunities available in Iraq in various sectors." 
 
For his part, Miles praised "the level of cooperation between the two countries," expressing "his country's readiness to strengthen and develop this cooperation, in a way that serves the interests of the two friendly peoples."