BAGHDAD, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi industry is striving to re-emerge in local markets despite the challenges of the country's economic crisis and the devastation of its major industrial infrastructure constructions.
At a large hall in the Baghdad International Fair in western capital Baghdad, the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals held the five-day "Made in Iraq" exhibition to encourage locally-made products to support the country's economy, as part of its struggle to revive the industrial sector in the war-ravaged country.
The exhibition's products include electrical appliances, agricultural machinery, electrical transformers, home appliances, petrochemical products, food industries, clothes, carpets, sanitizers, and soap.
Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, the Iraqi industry sector suffered severe deterioration, as the country's public and private sectors were almost completely paralyzed by insecurity and terrorist attacks, in addition to corruption, negligence, and the failure to enact laws to protect the local production industry.
In an attempt to support the country's economy and curb the serious problems of unemployment and poverty, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi was resolute in his speech at the opening ceremony of the exhibition when he said that the government is determined to revive the country's industrial sector.
"We are currently working on preparing the necessary infrastructure to create an appropriate environment to revive the Iraqi industry again, and we rely on the youth energies in our country," al-Kadhimi said.
Manhal Aziz, minister of Industry and Minerals, told Xinhua that "the slogan of Made in Iraq aims to restore confidence in the Iraqi product. We are redrawing the industrial policy properly as the Iraqi factories were exposed to obsolescence, as well as destruction and harm during the terrorist operations that took place in many areas in the country."
Aziz pointed out that the government started to draw plans to rebuild the destroyed factories, but was faced by the country's economic crisis which pushed the ministry to resort to investment.
"We are now looking for investors who have the ability to revive the local industry through bringing modern and developed factories to employ Iraqi workers to revive the country's factories," Aziz told Xinhua.
Aziz explained that the country has a three-stage strategy, which is currently under implementation and has enabled the ministry to rebuild 12 factories, including several to be reopened during the year. However, the medium and long-term plans are left to the coming governments to implement.
The local products are facing serious challenges as the Iraqi market is flooded with cheap imported products due to the absence of control over the border crossings, in addition to the high prices of fuel and raw materials, as well as the shortage in electricity, according to the minister.
Part of the ministry's efforts to revive the Iraqi industry is to provide support to the private sector to establish new industrial projects. It also launched an initiative, under the supervision of al-Kadhimi, to encourage and support youth projects to help solve the unemployment crisis in the country.
"This initiative includes providing full support and loans for the newly graduated and other young people to establish their own small projects to eliminate unemployment by a certain percentage," said Aziz Nadhum Abed, director general of the ministry's State Directorate for Industrial Development.
The ministry made a major step when it managed to enact the National Product Protection Law, which gave hope to many Iraq industrialists who felt that they can produce local products of high quality by benefiting from banning the import of goods that can be produced locally.
Seeking to benefit from the pioneering Chinese experience in the industry, Aziz said that China focused on supporting small and medium industrial projects to launch its industrial renaissance.
"It is necessary to benefit from China's experience with all its capabilities through building a strong relationship and cooperation to transfer its experience as long as we are seeking to revive our industry," Aziz said.
Outside the "Made in Iraq" exhibition hall, the ministry's State Company for Hydraulic Industries displays its large disinfection cannon, which the company manufactured it in seven days as part of its contribution to containing the coronavirus pandemic.
Nasir Shalaan, an engineer in the company, told Xinhua that the idea of the cannon was inspired by a video clip from China, showing the Chinese using such disinfection cannon to sanitize buildings. Enditem