Is Iraq able to join the BRICS group?.. A serious warning about Washington’s reaction, 17 OCT

Is Iraq able to join the BRICS group?.. A serious warning about Washington’s reaction

 The Iraqi economic expert, Omar Al-Halbousi, confirmed today, Monday (October 16, 2023), that Iraq’s accession to the BRICS group may face many obstacles as a result of the economic and monetary crises that the country is experiencing.

BRICS includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and at a summit in Johannesburg last August, a decision was announced to invite Argentina, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia, the Emirates and Saudi Arabia to become full members of the organization, starting on January 1, 2024.

Al-Halbousi added, in a press statement followed by “Baghdad Today,” that there are many obstacles standing in the country’s way to join the BRICS, which is Iraq’s lack of an industrial base and the lack of agriculture, which made the economy collapse significantly, amid the confusion of government measures that caused the economic and monetary crises to worsen in the country. Iraq.

He continued: "Iraq cannot join the BRICS group because of Washington's control over it, especially since Iraqi oil imports are placed in Iraq's account in Washington, which makes Iraq exposed to a financial setback if Washington lifts protection over Iraqi funds."

The economic expert pointed out that the United States of America has a lot of evidence of the Iraqi government’s negligence in the continuation of money laundering, terrorist financing, and dollar smuggling operations for the benefit of countries and armed groups punished by the American Treasury. In the event that Iraq joins BRICS, Washington will take a significant package of sanctions, and I do not rule it out. Approval of a law that reduces or restricts the income of the dollar to Iraq, causing a major financial collapse, especially since Iraq has a rentier economy that depends on oil and that oil imports are in America.

Al-Halbousi explained that the United States will not allow Iraq to leave its circle of control and go towards its competing party, and Washington has great pressure cards on Iraq militarily, politically and economically, which makes the statements of Iraqi officials about joining the BRICS group suicidal at all levels for Iraq, and at the same time it cannot Its implementation is due to American obstacles.

In a previous statement, the Iraqi economic expert, Safwan Qusay, spoke, saying: “Iraq is trying to be in the region of economic balance by attracting investments from countries of the East or West, and Russia is a giant industrial country, and Iraq’s openness to the Russian system can be exploited by attracting investments in the agricultural sector, livestock and the agricultural sector.” “Transportation, especially if we manage the investment file in the iron and steel sector to create complementary industries at the level of trains and ships.”

He added: "Iraq is looking forward to exploiting its geographical location and it needs to establish an industrial zone for strategic industries that complement the path of development and the presence of economic powers such as Russia that can contribute to these sectors. I believe that establishing a nuclear reactor to generate electrical energy will support the process of establishing this industrial city and that we will have diversity in Investment sources.

He pointed out that Iraq is looking forward to increasing the capacity of financial transactions with the Russian side outside the “SWIFT” system, so that it can have trade with the East through this system, and this reduces the pressure on financial bottlenecks in some cases.

Regarding the possibility of Iraq joining BRICS in the future and its impact on the region, Qusay said: “The BRICS project is promising, and the organization has a set of conditions for it to join, and I believe that Iraq needs to rehabilitate the economic goals and financial tools in order to be allowed to join the group,” explaining that Iraq is not with An area of attraction alone, but he must build a sectoral investment map so that there is competition in every sector. I believe that the advantage of the corresponding economy is what will determine preference. For example, integration with the Russian economy at the level of agriculture, iron and steel industries, and nuclear energy could be This is the path."  link