It seems that Iraq has taken a serious and strong approach to support the investment environment by its flexible openness to the world, as after the visit of Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani to America and the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad, and in a complementary step, Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani arrived in the Saudi capital Riyadh today, Sunday, to participate in the World Economic Forum, amid expectations of the latter’s joining the Development Road.
In May 2023, Iraq launched an infrastructure project that extends across its territories, connecting the large port of Al-Faw on the Arabian Gulf to Turkey through railway and road networks. The Development Road is expected to serve as a new link between Asia and Europe.
The media office of the Prime Minister stated in a statement received by “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” that “Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani arrived this morning, Sunday, in the Saudi capital Riyadh, to participate in the World Economic Forum, upon the invitation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”
The statement added that “Al-Sudani will hold on the sidelines of the forum, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the slogan ‘International Cooperation, Growth, and Energy for Development,’ a series of meetings with a number of world leaders, as well as with presidents and representatives of major international companies specializing in energy and digital technology.”
The forum aims to support global dialogue and find solutions to common global challenges, and it will witness the presence of a number of heads of states, as well as wide participation of international experts and thinkers from governmental and private sectors, international organizations, and academic institutions from 92 countries.
Meanwhile, member of the Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Industry, and Trade, Ali Al-Maksousi, affirmed on Saturday that the visit of Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has many economic benefits.
Al-Maksousi said, in a statement followed by “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed”, that “Iraq is open to all countries in the region to ensure that they are part of the Development Road, and it is not excluded that Saudi Arabia will join this project after Qatar and the UAE joined the project. This may be one of the agendas of Al-Sudani’s dialogue with officials in Riyadh.”
He added, “Iraq wants Saudi companies to enter various investment opportunities, especially in the energy and gas sectors. Therefore, Al-Sudani’s visit to Riyadh will carry important economic files, all of which are important for Iraq’s economy, and they may have fruitful results on the Iraqi economic file in the coming period.”
Saudi Arabia announced, two days ago, the opening of a new flight destination from Dammam to Najaf, to increase air travel between the two countries.
Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan witnessed during his visit to Baghdad on April 22nd of this year, in the presence of Qatari and Emirati ministers, the signing of a quadrilateral memorandum of understanding between Turkey, Iraq, Qatar, and the UAE, for mutual cooperation in the “Development Road” project, estimated at around $17 billion.
The project, launched in 2023 and spanning 1,200 kilometers in length, aims to transform Iraq into a regional transit hub, connecting Asia and Europe through the large Al-Faw port in southern Iraq all the way to the Turkish borders in the north.
The project was scheduled to officially begin this year and extend over three stages until 2050, with the government in the first four years aiming to transport 22 million tons of cargo annually via railways.
It is worth mentioning that according to a detailed report published by “Al-Alam Al-Jadeed” on July 25, 2020, the port of Al-Faw will be the link between East Asia and Europe, turning Iraq into a transit point for goods starting from the Al-Faw port, passing through modern lines to Turkey and then to Europe, shortening the time for transporting goods to hours instead of approximately 20 days via the Suez Canal, which is the current passage linking East Asia and Europe.
Work is still ongoing at the “Al-Faw Grand Port” by the Korean company “Daewoo” after it was awarded the contract, following a major controversy due to its competition from another Chinese company between granting it the contract or to the competing Chinese company in 2020.
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