Ministry of Industry devises a three stage plan, MP calls for merging three Ministries

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals devised on Monday a plan to operate "factories on lag" across the country and the Parliamentary Committee for Economy and Investment proposed merging the ministries of industry, trade, and agriculture into one ministry under the title "Ministry of Economy".

The Ministry of Industry's media director, Mortada Al-Safi, told Shafaq News Agency, "the ministry has developed a plan to push the industry forward," explaining, "this plan acts on three phases: short-term, medium-term, and long-term. The ministry started in the short-term plans since the Minister of Industry assumed the tasks."

"This plan includes the rehabilitated and re-established 17 laboratories. In one year, we were able to operate 16 laboratories and factories," he added, "these factories will employ Iraqi manpower only."

"Women will play a major role," he noted, "these factories produce bricks, pipes, sprinkler irrigation, and oxygen."

He continued, "We have started the medium-term plan, but we need funds at a rate of more than 30%," he continued, "there is a partnership with the private sector because the public sector cannot operate alone."

Al-Safi said, "the lagging factories are 83, 43 of them are in the medium-term plan, while the long-term plan includes 24 laboratories. There is currently a trend to enroll international players including Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria in the public and private sectors."

Member of the Parliamentary Committee of Economics and Investmentsm, Nada Shaker Jawdat, told Shafaq News Agency, "90% of the factories in the Iraqi governorates are idle."

"There is no real political will and no real economic file," she added, "there is a failure in the Ministry of Industry."

Jawdat proposed merging the ministries of industry, trade, and agriculture into a single Ministry of Economics.