Baghdad: Financial Adviser to the Prime Minister Mazhar Mohammed Saleh said that Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi’s anticipated visits to France and Germany reflect Iraq’s orientation toward an investment partnership with Europe.

According to Iraqi News Agency, Saleh stated, “The visit comes at an important economic juncture and is consistent with the shifts reflected at the G7 summit in Evian, France, on June 16, 2026, particularly its move toward adopting the principle of long-term investment partnerships, promoting joint investment, mobilizing private capital, and using guarantees, blended financing and risk-sharing mechanisms to finance strategically important projects.”

He added that the visit will carry a clear message that Iraq is seeking genuine investment partnerships with Europe rather than financing. Saleh highlighted Iraq’s natural resources, strategic geographic location, market, and major projects, while European companies and institutions bring capital, technology, expertise, and access to global markets.

Saleh continued by noting the need to merge these advantages through joint projects that generate returns for investors and add value to the Iraqi economy. He emphasized the importance of moving from memoranda of understanding to implementable projects by selecting strategic projects, identifying investors and partners, determining financing needs, and setting clear timelines for financial closure and project commencement.

Among these projects, Saleh explained, is the Development Road project, presented to Europe as an integrated strategic economic corridor, not just a railway and transport project. This encompasses the Grand Faw Port, industrial and logistics zones, energy, communications, and services, serving as a model platform for joint Iraqi-European investment.

He noted discussions are expected to focus on energy, industry, petrochemicals, infrastructure, transport, and communications, prioritizing projects that facilitate technology transfer, job creation, and value chain development within Iraq. This aligns with new principles adopted by the G7 since its 2025 summit, moving beyond simple contracting agreements or raw material exports.

Saleh pointed out the importance of differentiating between the priorities of Paris and Berlin, suggesting cooperation with France could focus on energy, transport, infrastructure, water, and technology, while with Germany, the focus could be on industry, energy, railways, equipment, industrial technology, training, and knowledge transfer.

He said the key objective of the visit is to reach an agreement on a joint Iraqi-European investment mechanism, uniting Iraqi capital, European and international financial institutions, European companies, and the Iraqi private sector. This would use guarantee and blended-financing instruments to mitigate risks and attract greater investment.

Saleh stressed that the success of the visit should not be measured by agreements signed, but by the number of projects advancing to final-stage studies, financial closure, and actual implementation. He noted that Iraq has an opportunity to redefine its economic relationship with Europe on a new basis, centered on partnership rather than aid, investment rather than financing alone, production rather than imports, and creating value chains within Iraq.

He underscored that the clearest message of the visit is that Iraq is not asking Europe to finance its future, but inviting it to invest alongside Iraq in its future.