Prime Minister Muhammad Al-Sudani affirmed that “we are determined to combat the corruption pandemic.”

At the Inaguration of the Baghdad International Dialogue Conference, he said: The great battle is against the corruption pandemic, and if we underestimate it, we lose all our other battles.

Al-Sudani added: Victory does not come except from cooperation between all state institutions, so the concerted efforts of the executive, legislative and judicial authorities will pave the way for achieving all the goals drawn from which we only seek the face of God and Iraq, and the satisfaction of our people.

He continued: As we are on the cusp of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the dictatorial regime, we remember the pain and suffering of our people in those years that were dominated by absurd wars and systematic sabotage, until the moment of change came in 2003, and the people of Iraq became the decision-makers.

Al-Sudani said: The most important challenge began with choosing a permanent constitution that would end the anomaly that the dictatorial regime followed, which drafted a temporary constitution that suits its mood, without any consideration for the basic rights of all Iraqis.

He said that the Iraqis chose, on October 15, 2005, a permanent constitution that establishes citizenship and guarantees all freedoms, and it became the safe roof over which the Iraqis lived, after they lived under the shadows of fear and oppression.

Al-Sudani continued: Our people went through a harsh stage because of terrorism, so the scenes of corpses dumped in the streets as a result of identity killings were strange to Iraqis who have coexisted for hundreds of years, and they accept each other without sensitivity, sectarian alert, or racial or national hatred.

He went on to say: And the shock of the occupation of large areas of our provinces by the terrorist organization ISIS came, then all Iraqis mobilized, after the fatwa of jihad, and gathered them together, and crowded on the berms to write the most wonderful stories about a people who overcame their wounds, and fought the fiercest battles to liberate their land from the worst terrorist gang.

Al-Sudani indicated that: After we passed the ordeal, the effects of delay were clear, and complaints about mismanagement and waste of money began to grow, and we witnessed many signs of discontent about the inability of state institutions to reform and carry out their duties, and after a difficult labor, during the post-liberation years, our current government has come.. this government that has drawn up an ambitious and comprehensive program that works to advance Iraq, and to move it towards investing all its wealth and energies and employing them to make up for the years of ruin it has missed. The most important thing here is to lead Iraq to the shores of political calm, away from the differences that have kept us from serving our people, who have been patient with us for a long time. So we resolved, and put our trust in God, to accomplish what was delayed to be accomplished, and to build what was planned.

He said: We proceed from confidence in the country’s capabilities to move the joints of the economy, create new job opportunities, develop services, combat poverty, expand the circle of those covered by social care, and revive health insurance. We participate in these programs, the private sector, which we gave an important role in the exceptional budget that we voted on for three years in a bold step, an expression of a clear vision that establishes a serious and different stage, and for the reconstruction movement to start, which we will follow closely, whether through personal follow-up or through the governmental committees that we have formed.

Al-Sudani added: We will not tolerate any retreat, delay, or imbalance that may cause the people’s money to be exploited for personal, partisan, or factional interests. The national wealth belongs to all Iraqis. The biggest challenge is restoring the citizen’s confidence, which has declined as a result of poor performance, the abundance of promises and words, and the lack of actions and achievement.

He stressed: The regime that died and ended with its personalities and formations is still residing in many facilities, and we are still suffering from an outdated legal system and a rigid centralized mentality, which requires firmness in reform and expediting putting things in perspective, and that the past with all its tribulations and devastation has become an important lesson for us today to prove, to ourselves and to the whole world, that Iraq, no matter how hard it climbs on its back, and no matter how destined it is because of dictatorship and mismanagement, it has the will and the ingredients to rise and return to the places it deserves.

Al-Sudani said: We possess a variety of resources that are a source of strength for us. Human, constituent, natural, and cultural resources. These are the resources that make Iraq a country capable of creating uniqueness and distinction

Source: National Iraqi News Agency