By John Lee.
The Iraq Development Fund has identified investment opportunities worth $40 billion in goods currently imported into the country that could instead be produced domestically.
Mohammed al-Najjar (pictured), head of the fund, told the state-run Iraqi News Agency (INA) that Iraq's annual import bill provides a measure of the scale of the opportunity, with the country currently importing the majority of its needs. He said that converting a significant portion of those imports into local manufacturing, supported by international investment, would reduce the import burden, create jobs, and drive genuine economic development.
Al-Najjar noted that the fund's capital is intended for investment rather than budgetary expenditure, with returns to be reinvested in further projects. He described the fund as a key tool for building an alternative economy, particularly given the absence of an approved budget for this year, the impact of regional conflict, and the halt in oil exports.
(Source: Iraqi News Agency)
No comments yet.