The Development Fund: Provides investment opportunities for the production of goods domestically valued at $40 billion.
The Iraqi Development Fund revealed on Tuesday that there are investment opportunities to produce goods worth $40 billion inside Iraq instead of importing them. The head of the fund, Muhammad al-Najjar, told the official agency that “the amount held by the fund is an investment amount, and is not allocated for use in the budgets,” explaining that “most of the budget items represent expenditures that are not expected to bring a return to the state, while the fund’s money is directed to investment projects that generate benefits and profits for the state, and then these returns are reinvested in other projects.” IraqPolitics Report
He added that “the fund represents one of the most important tools for continuing to build the alternative economy, especially in light of the failure to approve this year’s budget, and the circumstances that Iraq is going through due to the war and the cessation of oil exports. Therefore, the fund can be the spearhead in this direction,” noting that “the budget is concerned with spending, while the fund is concerned with investment, and there is a big difference in the method and way of thinking between them.”
He also explained that “the Fund has a Board of Directors consisting of the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Planning, and the Minister of Construction and Housing, and is chaired by the Prime Minister. The first meeting of the Board has not yet been held after the formation of the current government, because the previous Board of Directors stopped working due to the change in government,” noting that “the Board of Directors is the body that sets policies or adopts the policies presented by the Fund’s executive management.”
He stressed that “these policies have already been prepared and are awaiting the first meeting of the council for their adoption, and they are in complete line with the state’s direction towards finding alternatives to the rentier economy.”
He pointed out that “the talk about investment opportunities can be measured by the volume of annual Iraqi imports,” noting that “Iraq today imports most of its needs, and this means there is an opportunity to produce a large percentage of them locally, with the exception of some goods,” noting that “there are investment opportunities to produce goods worth $40 billion inside Iraq instead of importing them.” He continued: “If these imports are turned into local factories and investments, supported by international investments, this will contribute to reducing the burden of imports, and more importantly, it will provide job opportunities and launch a real development process,” explaining that “Iraq needs investment in various sectors.”
Burathanews.com