Latest news with #MazharSalih
Iraqi News
17-06-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Iraq qualified to be regional financial center
Baghdad ( – The prime minister's financial advisor, Mazhar Salih, revealed on Sunday that Iraq is qualified to be a regional financial center. In a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), Salih explained that Iraq is the second-largest oil producer in the Middle East and has the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, allowing the country to play a leading role in the global energy market given its large financial surpluses that can be directed toward investments in financial infrastructure. Iraq's foreign reserves surpass $100 billion, giving the country a considerable financial safety cushion, trust in monetary stability, and strong financial investment appeal, according to Salih. The Iraqi official indicated that Iraq's unique geographic location, which serves as a critical corridor connecting the world, provides an open economic space for global markets and their commercial interactions, with links creating an important climate for regional financial markets, especially with the country's strategic project of the Development Road, which will connect Europe and the Gulf. Iraq's human resources, with 60 percent under the age of 30, are capable of undergoing training in financial technology, banking innovation, digital technology, and artificial intelligence, according to Salih. Additionally, given that the state-owned banks are controlling more than 80 percent of the country's banking activities, the reform campaign led by the Iraqi government aims to transform Iraq into a global financial center.
Iraqi News
05-06-2025
- Business
- Iraqi News
Iraq's natural resource value surpasses $16 trillion
Baghdad ( – Iraq's underdeveloped mining industry is a critical component of the country's ambitions to diversify its economy away from oil, which accounts for over 90 percent of the government's revenue. The Prime Minister's financial advisor, Mazhar Salih, confirmed on Wednesday that Iraq is moving towards diversifying its GDP sources by increasing investment in the mining industry. In a statement to the state-run news agency (INA), Salih indicated that the value of Iraq's natural resources exceeds $16 trillion. Geological statistics suggest that Iraq has massive quantities of minerals such as sulfur, phosphate, rock salt, iron, and manganese, some of which are among the largest in the world. According to studies, Iraq has the world's largest reserves of sulfur and silica. The Iraqi government reached deals with major firms to explore natural resources as part of its effort to diversify national revenue and maximize the country's utilization of resources. The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, said in April that Iraq is currently the world's greatest producer of sulfur and the second-largest producer of phosphate. Last month, Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals Khalid Battal Al-Najm laid the foundation stone for new integrated phosphate fertilizer facilities in the western Iraqi province of Anbar. The move signals the rebirth of Iraq's most significant industrial institutions after years of stagnation and destruction caused by terrorism.
