Iraq signs agreement to revitalize agricultural sector with Austrian Erste Group Bank, 17 SEPT

 Today, Tuesday, Minister of Finance Taif Sami signed a loan financing agreement from the Austrian Erste Group  Bank to support the center pivot irrigation systems project for the Ministry of Agriculture, stressing that this comes within the strategy of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

The ministry said in a statement received by "Mil", "Finance Minister Taif Sami signed today with the Austrian ambassador to Baghdad a loan financing agreement from the Austrian Erste Group  Bank to support the pivot irrigation systems project for the Ministry of Agriculture, with a value of (262,155,298) euros, and implemented by the Austrian Power Company." 

She explained that "signing the agreement falls within the framework of the government's efforts to enhance infrastructure and improve public services, and this funding is expected to contribute to revitalizing the agricultural sector, alleviating water scarcity, stimulating economic growth and creating more job opportunities." 

She added, "The agreement comes within the strategy of joint bilateral cooperation between the Republic of Iraq and the Republic of Austria, and in implementation of the ministerial program and General Budget Law No. (13) for the years 2023, 2024 and 2025 and Cabinet Resolution No. 24630 of 2024, which focuses on adopting a governing vision for external borrowing for the benefit of investment projects with economic feasibility." 

The Minister of Finance stressed, according to the statement, "the importance of this step in enhancing economic cooperation between Iraq and Austria, and looking forward to more joint projects in the future." 

She pointed out that "the Austrian company Power will provide technical and advisory support to the Ministry of Agriculture during all stages of the project, including design, implementation, operation and maintenance." 

She explained that "the project represents an important step towards modernizing the agricultural sector in Iraq, especially in light of the challenges facing the sector due to water scarcity and climate change, in addition to the fact that this investment will achieve significant economic returns in the long term, by increasing agricultural production and reducing dependence on imports  link