Head of Parliamentary Finance to World Bank delegation: We support any loans that bring benefit, 10 JAN

 Head of Parliamentary Finance to World Bank delegation: We support any loans that bring benefit

On Wednesday, January 8, 2025, the head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Atwan Al-Atwani, met with a delegation from the World Bank headed by Jean-Christophe Carré, Regional Director for the Middle East, to discuss supporting the railway rehabilitation project within the Development Road Project, stressing support for borrowing.

 We support any loans that are beneficial.

According to a statement by Al-Atwani's office, seen by "Ultra Iraq", "the meeting reviewed the economic and regional vision of the development road project and its strategic importance in stimulating investment movement, maximizing non-oil revenues, and providing job opportunities. It also discussed the possibility of the private sector contributing to its implementation."

The meeting also "discussed the multi-stage support provided by the World Bank for the Development Road Project, including modernizing and rehabilitating the current railway network and linking it from southern Iraq through the north and reaching Turkey."

The statement added: "Al-Atwani reiterated his emphasis that the infrastructure of the development road should be in the hands of the government so that this important project that links Iraq to the countries of the world is not subject to influences." The head of the parliamentary committee pointed out that "our vision is that the development road project should not be a mere transit point, but rather we seek to make it a gateway to activate various economic and commercial activities and develop the infrastructure," calling on the World Bank delegation to present new visions and ideas regarding achieving the optimal investment for this huge project that is hoped to make Iraq an economic corridor linking Asia to Europe."

Al-Atwani stressed the "necessity of expediting the submission of the feasibility study related to the railway development plan within the development road project, and contributing to mobilizing international expertise and attracting the private sector to invest in it in a way that achieves the country's interest."

He added: "We look forward to holding joint workshops and extensive meetings with the World Bank, to provide a full briefing on the project details and discuss its details in a way that secures broad parliamentary support for this borrowing," indicating that "the Finance Committee supports any loans that are economically feasible and bring great benefit to the Iraqi economy, especially since investment in the railway sector is a successful trend and achieves a large financial return." 

For his part, according to the statement, "the World Bank delegation appreciated the valuable comments made by Al-Atwani within the framework of the rapid transition from the planning and vision stage to the implementation stage, stressing the World Bank team's readiness to submit the feasibility study, project path and details by next February."  link