Baghdad The President of the Republic, Barham Salih, called for a new political pact that would achieve a capable state that protects and serves its people.

Salih said in an interview on Al-Jazeera TV: The next stage in Iraq is decisive, and after 18 years, it is only possible to acknowledge the existence of a structural defect in the system of governance , and the need to move towards reform, noting that elections are an opportunity for Iraqis and its alternative is chaos, and it must be fair and expressive their will, in order to produce a capable, effective government that expresses the will of the Iraqis and works to harness the country’s resources to serve them.

He pointed out that “the popular movement came against the background of misery and deprivation and the Iraqis’ refusal to violate their country, and their slogan was eloquent, which is “We want a homeland”, and the popular movement succeeded in emphasizing the necessity of reforming the political situation and calling for early elections.

He added, “The current situation in Iraq is unacceptable and unsustainable, and it is time for Iraq, after all these difficult years, to have a rational system of governance that guarantees its citizens a free and dignified life.” “.

He also added, “There are political and social discussions and elites about the need to review the constitution, which has many positives, but there are deficiencies that need to be addressed.

He pointed out that “Iraq’s money came from oil since 2003 until now amounts to about a thousand billion dollars, and estimates indicate that the money looted from Iraq abroad is 150 billion dollars, and we must work to recover it. We asked the world to form an international coalition to fight corruption and recover the looted funds, similar to the international coalition to combat ISIS.

He added, “Iraq will either be the arena of others’ struggle and everyone will lose in that, or it will be a bridge for economic and commercial communication and infrastructure projects, as the region cannot rise without Iraq.”

He pointed out that “the Iraqi-Jordanian-Egyptian rapprochement is an important rapprochement based on a vision for the security of the entire region, based on creating job opportunities and economic interdepence.

“All Iraqis in Basra, Baghdad, Najaf, Mosul, Sulaymaniyah and Erbil are in agreement on the need to reform the situation, and it is in the interest of the Kurds to be in harmony and integration with Baghdad,” Salih stressed.

Salih said: “The number of people in Iraq is now 40 million, and in 2050 it will reach 80 million, and the global demand for oil in 2030 will decrease due to environmental policies in the world, and it will be reflected in a decline in the income of not only Iraq, but the entire region, and we have to move towards collaboration frameworks take into account these facts.

He stressed that “Iraq is committed to defing the Palestinian cause and the right of the Palestinian people, and peace cannot be established in the region without approving the full and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, and the issue of normalization did not be brought up with us because it is not an issue for discussion at all.”

He continued, “The Mesopotamian Revitalization Project is a promising environmental project for the future of Iraq, and is based on a return to our green past and the protection of environmental diversity.”

Source: National Iraqi News Agency