Iraq’s post-war reconstruction may cost $100bn, says Abadi
Haider Al Abadi, the Iraqi Prime Minister, has said that Iraq’s reconstruction may cost up to US$100 billion (Dh367bn) and tied the future growth plans to efforts to reassert the Iraqi constitution as the foundation of rebuilding ties between Baghdad and Erbil.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Al Abadi said that at least $45bn was needed for reconstruction of Iraq following the battle against ISIL, and that the figure could be “up to $100bn”.
He said that the “[upcoming] Kuwait conference will present opportunities for regional investors to take part in the reconstruction of Iraq”.
“We succeeded in fighting terrorism, we will succeed in reconstruction.”
Mr Al Abadi also met Nechirvan Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, on the sidelines of the conference, in a sign that the two are coming close to ending their stifling dispute.
The two held talks regarding the lifting of an international flight ban imposed on the Kurdish region’s airports. A diplomatic source told The National that “talks in Davos were successful”.
Mr Barzani described the meeting as “important” and that the two would meet next week. “During the meeting in Davos, both sides stressed commitment to resolving their outstanding issues, especially on oil revenue sharing and the international flight ban imposed on the autonomous region,” the KRG said.
Mr Al Abadi used the stage to warn regional powers such as Iran against settling their disputes in Iraq. “I was frank to tell both that you need to keep your differences away from the country. Our aim is to stabilise the country. We succeeded in fighting terrorism; we will succeed in reconstruction.”
Addressing the Iran nuclear deal, Mr Al Abadi said: “It is very important to keep it intact. Any claim between the US and Iran, any conflict is bad for Iraq. The nuclear deal is beyond us but good relations between them is important. Through the cracks Daesh was able to come through. We don’t want any more polarisation. It is bad for all of us in the region.”
He also spoke on the distribution of Iraq’s energy revenues, a major issue of dispute between Baghdad and Erbil. “We want to be fair to all of Iraq.”
He insisted that Iraq would help maintain stable crude oil prices by not exceeding Opec production limits. “We have to stick to that agreement to keep prices under control.” The prime minister seemed unperturbed by Shell’s recent exit from Iraqi oil production. “I just met Shell’s chairman and they have committed more to gas than oil. We need gas in the next four years, and Shell is looking in that direction.” He said there were “huge estimates” for gas in Iraq.
Relations between the Baghdad and Erbil government have been especially strained since the Kurdish independence referendum last year, but Mr Al Abadi was optimistic that many of the issues of contention were being solved.
The division of oil revenues and budget issues have been resolved because Erbil had agreed to pass on all oil revenue to Baghdad. “Budget allocation for [the] Kurdish region will be based on population and other factors to ensure fairness.”
While at the Swiss resort, he held talks with King Abdullah II of Jordan, his Lebanese counterpart Saad Hariri as well as British leader Theresa May and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Division of oil revenues and budget issues have been resolved because Erbil agreed to pass on all oil revenue to Baghdad