GOVERNMENT ADVISOR: IRAQ ADVANCES 17 PLACES IN SOFT POWER INDEX
The Prime Minister’s Advisor for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Muhammad Salih, announced on Saturday that Iraq has advanced 17 ranks in the Soft Power Index compared to 2023, thanks to improvements in governance and infrastructure development, stressing that this progress reflects a noticeable improvement in the stability of the country’s internal situation.
Saleh said in a statement reported by the official news agency, and reviewed by “Al-Eqtisad News”, that “Iraq’s occupation of the 98th position globally in the Soft Power Index for the year 2025 is an important matter in this leap during one transitional year between the end of 2023 and the end of 2024, and looking forward to 2025, as it comes 17 places ahead of its previous classification in 2023, which embodies the progress and stability witnessed by our country in a remarkable way, after it was ranked 116th globally in the year before the previous one.”
He added that “Iraq has achieved acceleration in the subject of soft power during one continuous year between 2023 and the end of 2024 and moving forward to 2025, and this acceleration comes from among a set of factors and indicators of soft power that are usually used by global institutions interested in measuring the extent of the state’s influence in its global scope through non-military means, such as culture, diplomacy, education, values, and innovation.
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He explained that “one of the most prominent indicators used in the soft power rankings, which Iraq enjoyed in 2024, is its distinguished international reputation in the framework of foreign relations, as our country’s diplomatic capabilities in influencing global affairs and its international image are at their best levels, which have increased in recent years due to the flourishing of foreign activities and the network of positive relations with other countries provided by Iraq’s open democratic climate as one of the most important of these factors.”
He pointed out that “political and security stability in Iraq has witnessed a significant improvement, as internal tensions and conflicts that negatively affected the country’s image in the world have disappeared, which has helped enhance Iraq’s soft power.”
He pointed out that “the ability of the government program, which has advanced its applications in developing the infrastructure and continuous improvement in basic services, especially security and digital services, was accompanied by an advanced movement of institutional governance, as the efficiency and transparency of government institutions increased, with the approval of the 2024-2028 development plan, which committed to sustainable development and environmental protection, and providing high attractiveness for investment after announcing the principle of partnership between the state and the private sector within the philosophy of
the social market, and announcing the strategic development road project as a project for Iraq’s progress forward.”
He added that “the high degree of interest in civilizational and cultural openness has made Baghdad the capital of tourism and culture in the world, which undoubtedly reflects the quality of life and the prevailing societal values of the civilization of the Tigris and Euphrates Valley, which dates back more than 7,000 years, in addition to the keenness to highlight the role of national heritage in general and different ethnicities in particular, which had a positive impact on the strength of societal diversity and its transition from the national level to the external level.”
He added, “Diversifying the economy, sustainable development and moving away from the rentier economy remain among the challenges facing the rise of soft power. This is what the government program is working on with great care, supported by the prevailing trend in economic, social and political thought circles in Iraq on an ongoing basis through the process of national support for comprehensive economic development programs for the state and government, to build a better Iraq forever.”