Prime Minister’s Financial and Economic Advisor Mazhar Muhammad Salih said Iraq’s budget strategy focuses on diversifying income sources, attracting investment, and strengthening the private sector. He explained that these steps can create jobs, increase production and exports, and support long-term economic growth.
Salih said a social market economy is the right approach for balancing market freedom with the government’s role in regulating competition, providing essential services, and ensuring social justice.
He added that Iraq does not need the state to step away from economic activity. Instead, the country needs an efficient government and a productive private sector that protects citizens’ rights.
According to Salih, Iraq’s biggest challenge is turning its oil wealth from a source of consumer spending and dependence on oil income into a driver of sustainable development.
He stressed that the country’s economic success should not be judged only by how much money it earns from oil. It should also be measured by growth in production, the number of jobs created, and improvements in people’s living standards.