عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Features

Iraq Is on the Right Path in 2024

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani casts his vote in Baghdad during the provincial council elections. (Prime Minister's office)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani casts his vote in Baghdad during the provincial council elections. (Prime Minister's office)
TT
20
TT

Iraq Is on the Right Path in 2024

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani casts his vote in Baghdad during the provincial council elections. (Prime Minister's office)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani casts his vote in Baghdad during the provincial council elections. (Prime Minister's office)

With hearts filled with hope, Iraqis pray that the new year will bring an end to Gaza's plight at a time when this enclave is witnessing a comprehensive war with a risk of a regional spillover.

We have not and will not abandon the Palestinian cause. We have mentioned on several occasions that the Palestinians should have their own state with Jerusalem as its capital. Since day one of the war in the Palestinian territories, we have stood alongside Gazans by providing humanitarian aid, diplomatic and political support.

This senseless war has posed significant challenges for the entire region and the danger of expanding the area of conflict still looms over. Efforts must be united in order to prevent the Zionist entity from exploiting international support to wage a comprehensive war that engulfs the whole region.

We, as Arab and Islamic countries, must work to mobilize a regional consensus to maintain stability and prosperity for the countries and peoples of the region by deepening partnerships and consolidating common interests.

In Iraq, from the first day of this government, we have adopted the approach of productive diplomacy and established the principle of a strong and capable Iraq in cultivating foreign relations with regional countries and the international community.

Iraq ought to regain its historical and natural leadership role in the region and the world, as this is our destiny. We must assume this role until the desired development that our people yearn for is achieved. We are making exceptional efforts on several levels to improve the security and living conditions of citizens, and Iraqis have already begun to have a sense of security and stability that they lost for many decades.

We incorporated the slogan “Iraq First” in the heart of our actions and thoughts, while making crucial and important decisions. The government is constitutionally the legitimate elected representative that is responsible for formulating state policy and defending Iraq’s interests, most important of which is protecting Iraq’s sovereignty. The state must have the upper hand in not allowing any party to undermine its status and capabilities of protecting diplomatic missions, facilities and public and private properties.

During the past year, we worked to achieve five priorities in the government program, which are addressing poverty, tackling unemployment, combating financial and administrative corruption, delivering services and economic reform. We quickly sought for the Iraqis to see the achievements at these levels so that they would know that their government is serious about improving their lives and solving their problems without delay.

We will stay the course and embark on work on the decades-delayed infrastructure projects and development and rehabilitation programs for the public servants. To put the development process back on track, the government increased the pace of implementation of existing projects, which are more than 7,000, not to mention the implementation of new projects that hold high development and service values.

The government has completed the implementation of dozens of strategic and development projects, most notably the Grand Al-Faw Port and Karbala Refinery, and we have laid the foundation stone for the railway project between Basra and Shalmaja, which will enhance connectivity with neighboring Iran.

We have set in mind to move forward with the strategic Development Road project, which will make Iraq a center for global trade between the east and west of the world. In addition, there are projects of integrated network of main roads overpasses and bridges to address traffic congestion and facilitate commutation and movement from the far south to the far north.

In the gas sector, we signed contracts for the fifth licensing round and a contract with the giant French company TotalEnergies to implement four huge oil, gas and renewable energy projects. We launched the sixth licensing round, and this is largely due to our government’s efforts to end the abhorrent practice of burning gas.

The path of development and entrepreneurship makes it imperative on us to bring about fundamental reforms by cutting bureaucracy, creating an advanced investment environment for Arab and foreign investors, and establishing the Iraq Development Fund, which aims to create an integrated investment environment. In order to complete the picture, we have drawn up a strong agenda to enhance the participation of the private sector in major projects.

We faced the corruption pandemic that has been spreading its venom in Iraq over the past decades, and we have come a long way in tracking down and recovering the stolen funds and the perpetrators of these crimes that are no less dangerous than terrorism.

We have taken many measures to control the unrealistic rise in the exchange rate of the dollar against the dinar by diversifying foreign currency reserves to increase the volume of our international trade with friendly and brotherly countries.

We fulfilled our pledge to hold provincial council elections, which were held up since 2013, including the elections of Kirkuk province, which have not been held since 2005. This city is considered a miniature Iraq with its multiple components and the sensitivity of its internal political situation. This is considered a tour de force for this government as it safeguards an important constitutional pillar of the principle of decentralization.

We prepared all the security, financial and logistical requirements for the success of the elections. Indeed, on December 18, we witnessed a smooth voting process with the success of our security plan without imposing a curfew, blocking roads, or closing airports. Provincial councils are a cornerstone for any democratic decentralized system and an institution needed by local governments, which represent the second executive arm in the state after the ministries.

We also intend in the new year to conduct the first population census in Iraq for the first time since 1997, as we believe that building a strong database is the basis for accurate and successful government planning.

In the face of the great challenge of climate change, and confronting the drought that threatens Iraq, we have formulated a climate strategy that extends to 2030 and will include reducing gas emissions to minimize environmental damage and motivate farmers to use modern irrigation techniques and the use of renewable energies. Iraq had a remarkable and important presence at COP28 in Dubai.

Since swearing in, our mission has not been easy, as the challenges required from us, and remain to demand perseverance, endurance, determination, and above all, an undoubted belief in Iraq’s greatness and its deservingness to be a leading prosperous country in the Middle East and the world.

Iraqis are eagerly awaiting the chimes of bells of the new year, and with the same vigor and determination, we will continue the process of development, peace and entrepreneurship that we have begun. Iraq will always remain an impenetrable barrier to those who wish to disrupt this process. Happy new year to Iraqis, Gazans, Palestinians, the peoples of the Arab nation, and the world.

Most Viewed

 
Features

10 Years after Europe's Migration Crisis, the Fallout Reverberates in Greece and Beyond

File photo: Migrants of African origin trying to flee to Europe are crammed on board of a small boat, as Tunisian coast guards prepare to transfer them onto their vessel, at sea between Tunisia and Italy, on August 10, 2023. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)
File photo: Migrants of African origin trying to flee to Europe are crammed on board of a small boat, as Tunisian coast guards prepare to transfer them onto their vessel, at sea between Tunisia and Italy, on August 10, 2023. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)
TT
20
TT

10 Years after Europe's Migration Crisis, the Fallout Reverberates in Greece and Beyond

File photo: Migrants of African origin trying to flee to Europe are crammed on board of a small boat, as Tunisian coast guards prepare to transfer them onto their vessel, at sea between Tunisia and Italy, on August 10, 2023. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)
File photo: Migrants of African origin trying to flee to Europe are crammed on board of a small boat, as Tunisian coast guards prepare to transfer them onto their vessel, at sea between Tunisia and Italy, on August 10, 2023. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP)

Fleeing Iran with her husband and toddler, Amena Namjoyan reached a rocky beach of this eastern Greek island along with hundreds of thousands of others. For months, their arrival overwhelmed Lesbos. Boats fell apart, fishermen dove to save people from drowning, and local grandmothers bottle-fed newly arrived babies.

Namjoyan spent months in an overcrowded camp. She learned Greek. She struggled with illness and depression as her marriage collapsed. She tried to make a fresh start in Germany but eventually returned to Lesbos, the island that first embraced her. Today, she works at a restaurant, preparing Iranian dishes that locals devour, even if they struggle to pronounce the names. Her second child tells her, “‘I’m Greek.’”

“Greece is close to my culture, and I feel good here,” Namjoyan said. “I am proud of myself.”

In 2015, more than 1 million migrants and refugees arrived in Europe — the majority by sea, landing in Lesbos, where the north shore is just 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Türkiye. The influx of men, women and children fleeing war and poverty sparked a humanitarian crisis that shook the European Union to its core. A decade later, the fallout still reverberates on the island and beyond.

For many, Greece was a place of transit. They continued on to northern and western Europe. Many who applied for asylum were granted international protection; thousands became European citizens. Countless more were rejected, languishing for years in migrant camps or living in the streets. Some returned to their home countries. Others were kicked out of the European Union.

For Namjoyan, Lesbos is a welcoming place — many islanders share a refugee ancestry, and it helps that she speaks their language. But migration policy in Greece, like much of Europe, has shifted toward deterrence in the decade since the crisis. Far fewer people are arriving illegally. Officials and politicians have maintained that strong borders are needed. Critics say enforcement has gone too far and violates fundamental EU rights and values.

“Migration is now at the top of the political agenda, which it didn’t use to be before 2015,” said Camille Le Coz Director of the Migration Policy Institute Europe, noting changing EU alliances. “We are seeing a shift toward the right of the political spectrum.”

A humanitarian crisis turned into a political one

In 2015, boat after boat crowded with refugees crashed onto the doorstep of Elpiniki Laoumi, who runs a fish tavern across from a Lesbos beach. She fed them, gave them water, made meals for aid organizations.

“You would look at them and think of them as your own children," said Laoumi, whose tavern walls today are decorated with thank-you notes.

From 2015 to 2016, the peak of the migration crisis, more than 1 million people entered Europe through Greece alone. The immediate humanitarian crisis — to feed, shelter and care for so many people at once — grew into a long-term political one.

Greece was reeling from a crippling economic crisis. The influx added to anger against established political parties, fueling the rise of once-fringe populist forces.

EU nations fought over sharing responsibility for asylum seekers. The bloc’s unity cracked as some member states flatly refused to take migrants. Anti-migration voices calling for closed borders became louder.

Today, illegal migration is down across Europe While illegal migration to Greece has fluctuated, numbers are nowhere near 2015-16 figures, according to the International Organization for Migration. Smugglers adapted to heightened surveillance, shifting to more dangerous routes.

Overall, irregular EU border crossings decreased by nearly 40% last year and continue to fall, according to EU border and coast guard agency Frontex.

That hasn’t stopped politicians from focusing on — and sometimes fearmongering over — migration. This month, the Dutch government collapsed after a populist far-right lawmaker withdrew his party’s ministers over migration policy.

In Greece, the new far-right migration minister has threatened rejected asylum seekers with jail time.

A few miles from where Namjoyan now lives, in a forest of pine and olive trees, is a new EU-funded migrant center. It's one of the largest in Greece and can house up to 5,000 people.

Greek officials denied an Associated Press request to visit. Its opening is blocked, for now, by court challenges.

Some locals say the remote location seems deliberate — to keep migrants out of sight and out of mind.

“We don’t believe such massive facilities are needed here. And the location is the worst possible – deep inside a forest,” said Panagiotis Christofas, mayor of Lesbos’ capital, Mytilene. “We’re against it, and I believe that’s the prevailing sentiment in our community.”

A focus on border security

For most of Europe, migration efforts focus on border security and surveillance.

The European Commission this year greenlighted the creation of “return” hubs — a euphemism for deportation centers — for rejected asylum seekers. Italy has sent unwanted migrants to its centers in Albania, even as that faces legal challenges.

Governments have resumed building walls and boosting surveillance in ways unseen since the Cold War.

In 2015, Frontex was a small administrative office in Warsaw. Now, it's the EU's biggest agency, with 10,000 armed border guards, helicopters, drones and an annual budget of over 1 billion euros.

On other issues of migration — reception, asylum and integration, for example — EU nations are largely divided.

The legacy of Lesbos

Last year, EU nations approved a migration and asylum pact laying out common rules for the bloc's 27 countries on screening, asylum, detention and deportation of people trying to enter without authorization, among other things.

“The Lesbos crisis of 2015 was, in a way, the birth certificate of the European migration and asylum policy,” Margaritis Schinas, a former European Commission vice president and a chief pact architect, told AP.

He said that after years of fruitless negotiations, he's proud of the landmark compromise.

“We didn’t have a system,” Schinas said. “Europe’s gates had been crashed."

The deal, endorsed by the United Nations refugee agency, takes effect next year. Critics say it made concessions to hardliners. Human rights organizations say it will increase detention and erode the right to seek asylum.

Some organizations also criticize the “externalization” of EU border management — agreements with countries across the Mediterranean to aggressively patrol their coasts and hold migrants back in exchange for financial assistance.

The deals have expanded, from Türkiye to the Middle East and across Africa. Human rights groups say autocratic governments are pocketing billions and often subject the displaced to appalling conditions.

Lesbos still sees some migrants arrive Lesbos' 80,000 residents look back at the 2015 crisis with mixed feelings.

Fisherman Stratos Valamios saved some children. Others drowned just beyond his reach, their bodies still warm as he carried them to shore.

“What’s changed from back then to now, 10 years on? Nothing,” he said. “What I feel is anger — that such things can happen, that babies can drown.”

Those who died crossing to Lesbos are buried in two cemeteries, their graves marked as “unknown.”

Tiny shoes and empty juice boxes with faded Turkish labels can still be found on the northern coast. So can black doughnut-shaped inner tubes, given by smugglers as crude life preservers for children. At Moria, a refugee camp destroyed by fire in 2020, children’s drawings remain on gutted building walls.

Migrants still arrive, and sometimes die, on these shores. Lesbos began to adapt to a quieter, more measured flow of newcomers.

Efi Latsoudi, who runs a network helping migrants learn Greek and find jobs, hopes Lesbos’ tradition of helping outsiders in need will outlast national policies.

“The way things are developing, it’s not friendly for newcomers to integrate into Greek society,” Latsoudi said. "We need to do something. ... I believe there is hope.”