| | MARCH 20234 Given the recent election in Iraq and the controversies around it, the country's markets and economy have managed to stand firm. There is a sense of optimism surrounding Iraq's economic growth. It stems from the fact that in 2022, Iraq's yearly budget revenues increased by 59 percent to $100.9 billion, mainly due to increased oil prices. In turn, the budget surplus increased from $4.8 billion to $40.3 billion in comparison with the previous year. Iraq's central bank foreign currency reserves also witnessed a surge, rising to $96 billion (as of December 16, 2022). Remember, the country was in a legislative vacuum for majority of last year. The government in Baghdad acted as a caretaker cabinet without the executive authority to deal with the broader matters of the state.However, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the new prime minister, took no time to start his endeavors to form bilateral relations with representatives from Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, England, and France to call on them to invest in Iraq. It, indeed, has paid off, as Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) recently announced that it would set up a company to invest in Iraq. Iraq also had bilateral discussions with India last month toward further increasing and diversifying trade from oil to non-oil sectors, including expanding economic partnerships and technology engagements. In a successful discussion, both sides also noted investment opportunities, particularly in the fields of oil and gas, infrastructure, healthcare, power, transport, agriculture, water management, drugs and pharmaceuticals, ICT, and renewable energy. They have urged the business community to engage closely for mutual benefit. Needless to say, it opens a plethora of opportunities for Indian investors. Go, grab them!Sujith VasudevanManaging Editoreditor@ceoinsightsasia.comEditorialIraq Means Business Vol 04 · Issue 4-5 ·MARCH, 2023 Publisher Alok Chaturvedi Managing Editor Sujith Vasudevan Manager - DesignPrabhu Dutta A.R.N Ray Noida Rohit Raghubanshi Akshay Shettyadvertise@ceoinsightsasia.comEditorial queries editor@ceoinsightsasia.comTo subscribeVisit www.ceoinsightsasia.com/subscribe/ or send emailto subscription@ceoinsightsasia.comMagazine Price is $50 per issueEditor Alok ChaturvediPrinted and Published By Alok Chaturvedi on behalf of InfoConnect Web Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., and Printed at Precision Fototype Services at Sri Sabari Shopping Complex, 24 Residency Road Bangalore-560025 and Published At No. 124, 2nd Floor, Surya Chambers, Old Airport Road, Murugeshpalya, Bangalore-560017.Copyright © 2023 InfoConnect Web Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher. Senior Designers Girish M Mohammed rafikVP - Sales & Marketing Amrit Kumar Singh Circulation Manager Magendran Perumal Editorial Heena Kousar Keerthana Kantaraju Roopalatha H.
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