Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani stressed on Saturday that reforms at the security institution were his government’s top priority.
He spoke of restructuring and modernizing the institution and the training of its members and of combating corruption.
The government has worked on rehabilitating 34,000 members of the security forces, he told a graduation ceremony at the Higher Institute for Security and Administrative Development.
Tens of thousands of new members have been recruited “to pump new blood into the institution,” he added.
On corruption, the PM called on the security forces to be on constant alert and readiness.
Their plans must be based on intelligence information, he added, while also urging the need to constantly modernize these plans to benefit from the latest developments in the security field.
Sudani spoke of combating drugs, which he said were no less dangerous than ISIS terrorism.
They are a threat to social security, he warned, calling for intensifying border security to combat smuggling.
He also stressed the need for cooperation and coordination with regional and international organizations in the fight against drugs.