PM al-Kadhimi departs to Brussels

According to PM al-Kadhimi's office, he will hold a series of meetings with officials in Belgium and the EU. 

Ahead of his departure, al-Kadhimi said that this visit revolves around Activating the agreements concluded with the European countries to expand the economic cooperation and contribute to helping Iraq overcome the economic crisis. 

"Iraq suffers from a seasonal shortage in power supply. The Government acknowledges it and will take measures to tackle it, given that we inaugurated four grand power plants this year and we expect to inaugurate more in the next few months." 

"Power production has reached its highest rates in decades. However, the challenges remain massive. We still need to put more work to transcend to the level our people deserve and [meet] its legitimate rights, securing power is one of which." 

"The electricity crisis is a product of a poor management and a long-standing waste of funds and efforts without a clear long-term approach," he added, "the Government worked over the past year to expand the investments in the electric power sector and activated investments in Iraqi gas, which operates most of our power plants."

"The talks with the EU will be focused on this fields, in addition to other economic, security, and political aspects."

A source told Shafaq News Agency yesterday that Brussels will be PM al-Kadhimi's first stop in a European tour that includes serial talks with European officials.