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Iraq open for business in bid to become global energy hub: PM
Updated 25 September 2026 16:47
Arab News
September 25, 202616:39
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- Ali Al-Zaidi talks up opportunities available to wider region through fostering economic, logistical cooperation
- He warns that stability relies on ‘just solution’ to Palestinian issue, free navigation of vital waterways to preserve trade
Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi told the UNGA in New York that the country’s authorities are working to create an environment in which more people could invest in Iraq, noting that the region would be stronger with more neighbors cooperating rather than competing.
“Our government is working to develop gas fields and expand refining capacities, and our capacities to produce derivatives, and we’re also working to improve our petrochemical industry capacities,” he said.
“Our ambition is for Iraq to be a global hub for energy production, and to leverage its potential to promote regional and international security and stability in a sustainable manner.”
Talking up his country’s vast natural resources, agricultural opportunities and strategic location, Al-Zaidi came with a message to UN members: “Invest in Iraq.”
He noted that the country’s emergence as a global energy hub cooperating with its neighbors would bring benefits across the region, especially given the current turmoil facing global energy markets.
Al-Zaidi said: “We express concern regarding the developments concerned with freedom of transport and maritime navigation, and the crisis this has caused in terms of the rise in global energy prices.
“In order to contain the subsequent risks and the consequences for our peoples, we’re working to diversify our oil export ports and develop energy lines and corridors linking Iraq, Turkiye, Jordan and Syria in order to reach global markets with the aim of contributing to energy security and diversifying supply routes.”
He added: “We want for this partnership to be open to all our neighbors and friends ... When the countries of the region are connected through ports, railways, power lines, trade and investment, they have a greater interest in preserving stability.”
Stability, Al-Zaidi said, is a “shared responsibility” of the international community, and “true stability isn’t built through wars, but through common interests that make cooperation more feasible than conflict.”
He added that Iraq’s goal is to see Middle East nations move “from competition to cooperation,” stating: “We extend our hands to everyone on the basis of respect for sovereignty, non-interference, good neighborliness, strengthening mutual interests and adopting dialogue as a means to address differences.”
But he warned that peace and stability cannot be achieved until the Palestinian issue is resolved.
“There will be no room for security in the Middle East without a just solution for this issue, and without establishing the right of the Palestinian people to their land, to self-determination and to establishing their sovereign state.
“We stress here the paramount importance of facilitating humanitarian access and the protection of civilians.”
He added that security extends beyond conflicts, encompassing a robust response to organized crime, fighting corruption, securing borders and halting the activities of armed groups operating beyond government control.
But, he said, one of the key threats facing nations such as Iraq is climate change. “The security we seek isn’t limited to halting conflicts, but rather includes confronting climate change, the effects of desertification and water scarcity. These are challenges that Iraq faces that affect its food security,” he added.
“Therefore, we affirm that we hold steadfastly onto our just and legitimate water rights, and we call for the joint management of water resources in accordance with the principles of cooperation and international law.”
Al-Zaidi thanked the UN for its role in the reconstruction of Iraq, adding: “We underscore our commitment to fostering productive cooperation with the organization, and wish it success in its endeavors to mitigate the effects of wars and the consequences of conflict around the world.”
He said the government is taking steps to utilize one of its most vital resources in efforts to reassert itself: its young population.
“The well-being of the Iraqi people remains our ultimate objective and the focus of all of our efforts,” he added.
“Given the high proportion of young people in our society, we seek to make them a true driving force of the future economy through education, the diversification of employment opportunities, support for entrepreneurship and the advancement of the digital economy.”
He concluded: “We say Iraq has never been on the margins, rather it’s the heart of history beating in the modern world. Iraq is a nation worthy of partnership as we move toward the future.”
Iraq open for business in bid to become global energy hub: PM
Iraq open for business in bid to become global energy hub: PM
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