Economy News – Baghdad
Trade Minister Atheer Daoud Salman Al-Ghuriri confirmed on Thursday that Iraq’s accession to the World Trade Organization will contribute to stimulating economic growth, during his speech at the third negotiating meeting with the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.
“The Minister of Trade and the Head of the Team on Iraq’s Accession to the World Trade Organization chaired the Iraqi side at the third negotiating meeting with the World Trade Organization and in the presence of the Deputy Director General of the Organization Zhang Xingqin, the Chairman of the Working Group for Iraq’s Accession, members of the Team and representatives of WTO countries at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva,” the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement, seen by “Economy News”.
The minister, according to the statement, pointed out during a speech at the meeting, “the importance of Iraq being part of the rules-based multilateral trading system,” stressing that we are “pleased to hold the third meeting of the working group sixteen years after the last working group meeting, which represents an essential step for our government and people on our way to joining, in addition to being a means through which we seek to achieve the development and diversification of our national economy and our integration with the global economy.”
The minister pointed out that “the Government of Iraq is committed to its economic reform program by strengthening trade policy, improving the business environment and creating favorable conditions for foreign investment,” noting that “joining the World Trade Organization will contribute significantly to enhancing transparency, encouraging competition and stimulating the sustainable economic growth of Iraq.”
He continued, “The new Iraqi government, led by Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani and within its government program, has defined a clear vision for the future of economic liberalization in Iraq, which included setting timetables for a time plan to achieve the liberalization process and focusing on sectors with high potential such as agriculture, industry and services, which provided for supporting domestic and foreign investments and unifying customs policies on all borders and other measures to facilitate trade and investment and creating investment opportunities.”
“The government has also attached special importance to aligning its trade policy and regulatory legislation with international capacities, norms and standards and strengthening institutional capacities to effectively meet WTO requirements,” the minister explained.