The administrative and financial department at the Ministry of Commerce held an economic conference today, Saturday, in cooperation with the General Company for Food Trade and the House of Wisdom for Training and Consulting at the Baghdad International Fair.
The conference witnessed the participation of government and local figures to discuss the shift in trade policy from a consumer-driven, rentier policy to a productive trade policy that activates the engines of production within the national economy.
Advisor to the Prime Minister, Muthher Mohammed Saleh, told the News Video Agency that Iraq's trade policy has been marked by a rentier tendency, where the private sector imports goods and services amounting to a minimum of $50 billion, all funded by oil and disconnected from the domestic economic activity, except for some sectors like grains. He emphasized the necessity of linking internal trade with the localization of agriculture and crafts and changing this tendency so that commercial activity is connected to local production.
Saleh clarified that the internal trade sector constitutes 8% of the Gross Domestic Product, which is a significant ratio, similar to the 8% recorded in Germany and the 12% in the United States. However, the difference lies in the impact of the Iraqi structure being influenced by oil rent and foreign markets instead of internal productive sectors, which necessitates highlighting the transition toward production.
For his part, Baghdad Provincial Council member Hussein Fouad Al-Khazaie indicated that the economic conference is a critical necessity for boosting the local economy and keeping pace with global advancements, especially during economic crises that affect Iraq.
Al-Khazaie confirmed to the News Video Agency that improving the economic reality and living conditions of citizens and securing the food basket will reflect positively on the economic revival, infrastructure development, and resource increase.