Prime Minister: Iraq is witnessing a comprehensive development renaissance.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani affirmed on Wednesday that Iraq is witnessing a comprehensive development renaissance, while indicating that 323 power stations are under construction and implementation as part of the campaign to rehabilitate distribution networks and install power stations. In his speech during the launch of the implementation works of the projects to rehabilitate distribution networks and install power stations via a closed-circuit television, the Prime Minister stated that “the start of work on rehabilitating electricity distribution networks in various governorates comes within the framework of the largest campaign to resolve power grid bottlenecks in preparation for the summer of 2025.”
He added that “323 power stations are currently being built and implemented as part of this campaign,” noting that “the government is working according to a well-thought-out technical plan, independent of any investment from political or societal entities.”
He also explained that “the government has made significant efforts in the energy production sector and is seeking to diversify its sources to ensure the stability of the country’s electricity system.”
The Prime Minister concluded by stressing that “Iraq is witnessing a comprehensive development renaissance.”
The Prime Minister’s advisor calls for encouraging investments and improving the business environment in Iraq.
The Prime Minister’s advisor for financial affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, called for focusing on economic development programs and encouraging local and foreign investments by providing tax incentives and improving the business environment.
Saleh also pointed out in a statement to Al Furat News Agency the importance of launching development projects that contribute to creating job opportunities, especially for young people, with the aim of reducing unemployment and poverty. These projects include the Riyada Project and Riyada Bank, in addition to activating the activities of the Iraq Development Fund and the Sovereign Guarantees Committee to finance strategic industrial projects.
Saleh emphasized the need to strengthen social protection programs to mitigate the repercussions of economic crises on the poor. These programs are managed with high professionalism, contributing to building buffers that protect the national economy from regional influences and tensions.
Iraq relies on three countries to import gas instead of Iran.
Iraq is seeking alternative solutions to obtain gas to fuel its power plants, after the United States decided to end the exemption it had granted Baghdad to import this material from Iran.
Negotiations are currently underway with Algeria and Qatar to import liquefied gas to Iraq, according to contracts that may be medium-term (3-5 years), according to a source in the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity.
The Energy platform quoted an informed source as saying, “Iraq is counting on increasing national gas production and benefiting from halting gas flaring within three years. At that point, domestic gas will be relied upon in the electricity system.”
LNG imports will begin once Iraq completes the infrastructure at Khor al-Zubair port. This includes contracting for a floating offloading and storage platform and connecting it to a 40-kilometer pipeline that will transport the gas via a link to the national pipeline near the Shatt al-Basra River.
Meanwhile, Iraq is moving to double its electricity import capacity from Türkiye to secure the necessary supplies for its northern provinces.
The current capacity of the interconnection line between the two countries is approximately 300 megawatts, and Iraq aims to double this capacity to 600 megawatts next summer.
According to negotiations conducted by Iraqi Electricity Minister Ziyad Ali Fadhil on Sunday, March 16, 2025, with Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, the necessary infrastructure is scheduled to be ready within the next few months, so that the connection will be ready for the new capacity in the summer of 2025.
This is also confirmed by informed sources, who say that the new capacities for the electricity interconnection between the two countries will come into effect next summer, with Ankara expected to import approximately 300 megawatts from Iraq during the remaining seasons.
Iraq is currently preparing the infrastructure at Khor al-Zubair port in Basra Governorate to import liquefied natural gas, which could take the next three to five months.
It is planned to contract for a floating platform for unloading and storage, and connect it to a 40-kilometer pipeline that will transport the gas by connecting it to the national pipeline near the Shatt al-Basra.
In late February, the Iraqi Oil Ministry’s Undersecretary for Gas Affairs, Izzat Sabir, stated that the federal government was studying the possibility of importing gas from Qatar and Algeria after the US president revoked the exemption granted to Iraq to import this material from Iran. Sabir emphasized that the ministry was determined to stop flaring associated gas by 2030.
The Central Bank of Iraq lists the reasons for the decline in foreign exchange reserves.
The Central Bank of Iraq announced on Wednesday a decline in its foreign exchange reserves during the third quarter of 2024, explaining the reasons behind this decline.
The bank stated in a report seen by Shafaq News Agency that “Iraq’s foreign currency reserves decreased by 0.52% during the third quarter of 2024, reaching 143.35 trillion dinars, compared to the same period in 2023, when reserves reached 144.10 trillion dinars.”
The bank attributed this decline to “the Central Bank’s resort to withdrawing cash liquidity from the market through enhanced cash sterilization operations, as part of its efforts to maintain monetary stability.”
The report added, “As a result of these measures, cash receipts increased from 18.46 trillion dinars to 20.09 trillion dinars during the same period.”
He also pointed out that “the decline in oil prices from $82.2 to $77.3 during the same period was another factor in the decline in foreign reserves.”
The bank explained that “the increase in receipts led to the depletion of a portion of net foreign reserves, and the issued currency increased from 100.06 trillion dinars to 104.13 trillion dinars, as a result of the increase in public spending, which in turn led to an increase in public debt.”
The Central Bank emphasized that “despite this decline, it still possesses large net foreign reserves relative to the money supply, which makes it relatively secure, according to international financial standards that set a minimum of 20%.”
It is worth noting that the internal monetary sterilization policy involves the central bank selling or buying financial assets in foreign currency with the aim of avoiding impacting the monetary base and limiting the effects of inflation resulting from cash flows.
