The Office of the Prime Minister of Iraq confirmed today, Monday, that "the memorandum signed between the Iraqi Trade Bank (TBI) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) aims to enhance the efficiency of Iraqi companies." The statement indicated that "under the auspices of Sudani, a cooperation memorandum was signed today between the Iraqi Trade Bank TBI and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning, Mohammed Tamim, and the technical advisor to the Prime Minister, head of the special Diwani committee for sovereign guarantees, Mohammed Sahib Al-Duraji."
The office explained that "the cooperation memorandum comes within the framework of the government's initiative to grant sovereign guarantees to the private sector, as well as part of the work of the special committee for sovereign guarantees covered by the 2023 budget law and Cabinet Resolution No. (23404) for the year 2023."
It noted that "the memorandum includes the Japanese agency financing projects for the Iraqi private sector to establish factories within Iraq, with the aim of localizing national industry in the fields of pharmaceuticals, construction, chemicals, petrochemicals, energy, and agricultural and food industries, in implementation of what the government program includes in supporting and localizing strategic industries, and based on the directives of the Prime Minister in this regard."
The office added that "in light of the memorandum, an initial amount of $200 million will be provided to finance important projects that serve citizens and the Iraqi economy, which will contribute to reducing external imports and also reduce the outflow of hard currency."
It continued, stating that "the memorandum aims to elevate the efficiency of Iraqi companies to a global level by opening up to global banks for financing and ensuring quality through agreements with major industrial countries."
