Baghdad Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, Hamid Al-Ghazi, announced today, Sunday, that the opening of Jamima port with Saudi Arabia is dependent on a single procedure, while indicating that the Council of Ministers approved an agreement to protect the Saudi investor.
Al-Ghazi told the official Iraqi News Agency (INA), “The opening of other border crossings with Saudi Arabia is a matter of discussion between the two sides, and we have Jamima port, whose approvals and procedures have been completed,” noting: “We asked the Saudi side to complete the procedures on their part to start opening this port.”
He added, “After opening Arar port, we faced many problems and obstacles, and they were resolved in coordination between the two parties through the Iraqi Border Ports Authority and the Saudi Ministry of Transport,” noting that ” opening of Jamima land port is near, which is among the papers presented now.”
He stressed that “the level of trade exchange stopped for many years, and after the opening of the Arar port less than a year ago, we reached a trade exchange of 15% between the two countries, and this means moving in the right direction and real growth by developing the economic aspect to reach the level of ambition between the two countries.”
Regarding the provision of guarantees to the investor, Al-Ghazi explained that “capitals are looking for guarantees and this is their right, and Iraqi laws such as the investment law are among the best laws in the region that guarantee the rights of local and foreigners, and this is what has been clarified to businessmen,” noting that “there is an agreement that has been approved by the Council of Ministers. The ministers, their vote and approval were sent to the House of Representatives to vote on it, which is to protect the Saudi investor, and we asked the Joint Businessmen Council not to stop or wait.”
He added, “The Iraqi government is capable of protecting the Saudi investor as well as protecting the Iraqi investor, providing him with a safe environment and simplifying the procedures for him, and we made it clear that there is a fatal routine and this is what was inherited from laws and legislation and chaos in the instructions and regulations,” noting that “the availability of real will and desire between the two countries are heading towards developing relations, and economic and commercial work will lead to a development in political work, and this is what we saw from the Iraqi-Saudi Coordination Council to unify positions between the two countries abroad.”
Al-Ghazi indicated that “the government is determined to overcome many obstacles, and I as a national coordinator in coordination with the Saudi side, have overcome many problems, including extortion and threats,” noting that “there are mafias and some weak-minded people who live on blackmail and threats.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency