Key Highlights from the Speech of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Sunday, September 8, 2024

Baghdad-INA  
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani confirmed today, Sunday, that the government was formed in circumstances that are still evident in the memory of the recent past and our permanent approach to building trust with the people as its age approaches two years, indicating that the concept of a service government and its priorities in addressing unemployment, poverty and services and meeting the imperatives of economic reform, calling on political forces to assume responsibility and support the government to complete its service program. According to what was received by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
 
  We are committed to direct communication with the public, providing facts as a consistent approach to building trust with the people.
 
 The challenges that led to the formation of the government, such as political conflicts and the absence of a comprehensive vision for state management, remain evident, alongside widespread corruption, which has resulted in poor services.
 
 Our government has based its work on a realistic assessment of the key demands and needs governing the relationship between citizens and their government.
 
 We have formulated the concept of a “services government,” prioritizing addressing unemployment, poverty, public services, economic reform, and fighting corruption.
 
 Our government has relied on political support from the State Administration Coalition and all national political forces, working to restore citizens' trust in the political system.
 
 We addressed the needs of those included in the Social Protection Network by adding 961,000 new families, distributing over 7.5 million food baskets monthly as part of the ration card system.
 
 More than two million students have received student grants, and over 372,000 caregivers for people with disabilities have received salaries.
 
 We launched a campaign to provide new school buildings while also renovating and maintaining thousands of existing schools.
 
 We resolved the issues of contractors, higher education graduates, top-ranked graduates, and daily wage employment workers, with nearly one million job positions.
 
 We supported the private sector by launching projects under the "Iraq Development Fund," which will generate thousands of job opportunities, with tangible results already emerging.
 
 Local power production has reached 27,000 MW for the first time, new stations have been completed, and production facilities have been upgraded, along with strengthening transmission and distribution networks.
 
 We have begun utilizing associated gas, reaching 67% usage, up from previous levels where it was being flared, wasting billions IQDs.
 
 We became diesel fuel self-sufficient and began exporting. Gasoline production increased to 28 million liters per day, and imports have decreased to their lowest levels, with plans to stop imports entirely by early 2025.
 
 Major strategic projects have been launched, including the Development Road and Al-Faw Grand Port.
 
 The government has undertaken a broad initiative to address the housing crisis, with plans to build modern cities.
 
 We have advanced agricultural development to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat and started working on reviving the national industrial sector and developing major industrial cities.
 
 Projects for addressing traffic congestion have progressed to near completion in record time, with some projects already opened, and citizens have noticed improvements within just a few months.
 
 The number of stalled projects has decreased significantly, with work resuming on 471 government projects and 354 provincial projects and contracts, down from the original 2,611 stalled projects and contracts.
 
 We have fully completed 400 projects and contracts, some of which had been stalled for over a decade.
 
 The government successfully organized provincial council elections and supported youth, sports, women, culture, and arts sectors.
 
 We resolved the confusion caused by multiple personal identification documents, issuing over 40 million national identification cards, launching the electronic passport system, and streamlining the bureaucratic processes that burdened citizens.
 
 We achieved security stability thanks to the capabilities of our armed forces, in addition to enhancing Iraq’s foreign relations.
 
 We made significant progress in resolving the issue of the international coalition’s presence in Iraq and ending the UNAMI mission, demonstrating the government’s belief in the capabilities of our security forces, which defeated ISIS remnants.
 
 The government made significant efforts in international relations, successfully shielding Iraq from regional escalations while maintaining unwavering support for Palestine.
 
 We worked to uphold the constitutional duties of the judiciary, aiming to complete the efforts for enhancing stability and progress.
 
 The government is committed to fighting financial and administrative corruption, which is a public demand and a moral and legal responsibility through the enforcement of law.
 
 We continue to face misinformation campaigns, mixing facts with falsehoods, and accusations that the government is turning a blind eye to corruption.
 
 The government initiated the most extensive formal and legal efforts to recover stolen funds and target corrupt individuals, prioritizing this issue in our international relations.
 
 The government stands at the forefront of all constitutional authorities in addressing and holding accountable any abuse of public office for blackmail or violating the law.
 
 We call on national political forces and constitutional authorities to assume their responsibilities concerning major national challenges and to stand united with the government to complete its service-oriented program.
 
 We must reject attempts to hinder progress, especially given the rapid challenges and developments in the region.
 
 For those concerned about the government's success, we assure you that meeting the people's demands remains our top priority.
 
 The project to build and revive Iraq is a project for all Iraqis, regardless of their backgrounds and national affiliations.
 
 We stress the need to resolve the selection of a Parliament Speaker, enabling us to move forward with the proposed ministerial reshuffle, which is based on evaluating ministers' performance to improve government effectiveness.
 
 We maintain an impartial stance toward all political forces and commend the ministries' recent efforts, as their achievements reflect the spirit and objectives of the government's program.