ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The fight against endemic corruption in Iraq, long plagued by a myriad of conflicts and wars, remains the government’s foremost priority, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Delivering a speech at the UNGA in New York City, Sudani briefed about his cabinet’s ongoing efforts and achievements to stabilize Iraq nearly a year after he was elected prime minister, while also stressing the challenges facing the country and attempting to garner international support to address the issues.
“Identifying and combatting corruption has been our foremost priority. We have taken measures to pursue individuals involved in corruption, regardless of their positions or affiliations, and handed them over to the judiciary for accountability,” Sudani told the UN.
His remarks came amid a recent spike of arrests for corruption charges by Iraq’s anti-corruption body, called the Integrity Commission, with local officials suspected of corruption being arrested in droves across the country’s provinces.
“We call upon our friendly and partner countries to collaborate in the fight against corruption and the recovery of stolen assets,” he said, adding that corruption and terrorism, another plague Iraq has struggled with for decades, are “interconnected.”
Rampant corruption plagues all levels of the Iraqi state, a phenomenon that the country’s current government has pledged to eliminate. Official figures published last year estimated that well over 400 billion dollars have gone missing from state coffers since former dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime was toppled in 2003.
Iraq also ranks among the most corrupt nations, coming 157th out of 180 countries, in an assessment by Transparency International.
Besides combatting corruption, other priorities set by Sudani’s cabinet include “creating employment opportunities, revitalizing public services, combating poverty,” as well as “implementing far-reaching reforms in both the economic and administrative spheres.”
“These measures are essential for our nation’s progress and well-being,” he stressed.
Iraq: a mediator
While continuing his address, Sudani spoke of Baghdad’s key role and readiness to mediate regional and international conflicts, with the country’s mediation having recently shown measurable success during the normalization process of bitter regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia.
“We have strived to develop an independent and balanced foreign policy in mediating differences and embracing common interests,” Sudani said. “Our goal is for Iraq to contribute to regional and global stability and to be part of the solution to regional and international challenges.”
Iraq previously hosted five rounds of talks between Tehran and Riyadh, aimed at reconciliation, from April 2021 until a Chinese-brokered deal in March ultimately sealed the restoration of ties between the countries and led to the eventual return of their diplomatic missions.
Both countries thanked Baghdad for its efforts after the deal to resume diplomatic relations was sealed.
Iraq has also offered on numerous occasions to mediate to end regional and international conflicts. In July, during a presser with his Yemeni counterpart, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that Baghdad is willing to support any political efforts to end the brutal years-long war in Yemen, with the conflict between Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi rebels described by the UN as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, a conflict that has left hundreds of thousands dead.
In a similar presser in March, Hussein told Ukraine’s top diplomat that Iraq is willing to mediate to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, after calling for a ceasefire in Ukraine two months prior during a press conference with his Russian counterpart.
Baghdad-Erbil ties
During his speech, Sudani described the Iraqi federal government’s ties with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) as “positive,” after relations were recently strained as Erbil accused Baghdad of stripping the Kurdistan Region’s financial entitlements by not paying its appropriate share in the budget.
“The federal government maintains positive relations with the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and all other provinces. We engage in ongoing dialogue with regional representatives and local governments across Iraq to translate opportunities into projects that promote development and bolster the economy,” he said.
The Iraqi parliament in June passed its highly contentious budget bill for the years 2023, 2024, and 2025, of which the Kurdistan Region’s share is 12.6 percent. However, budget issues between both governments have not been resolved as Erbil blames Baghdad for not sending the required funds to pay the Region’s civil servants.
On Sunday, the KRG struck a deal with Baghdad to loan 700 billion Iraqi dinars for three months (total 2.1 trillion) monthly to cover the salaries of the Kurdistan Region’s civil servants, after a high-level KRG delegation led by Prime Minister Masrour Barzani went to Baghdad to campaign for the Region’s financial entitlements.
Economic woes in the Kurdistan Region have worsened in recent months after Turkey suspended the flow of Kurdish crude oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline to its Ceyhan port in March following a ruling from a Paris arbitration court, causing the KRG billions of dollars in losses.
On Wednesday, Sudani told Al-Monitor that Turkey’s failure to resume exports of the Kurdistan Region’s oil violates a 1973 agreement, calling on Ankara to resume the exports.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Baghdad to continue cooperation with Erbil in order to sustain its “stability and resiliency,” during a meeting with Sudani on the sidelines of the UNGA.
Blinken also delivered an invitation to Sudani on behalf of US President Joe Biden to visit the White House soon and emphasized Washington’s “commitment to assisting Iraq in achieving a secure, stable, and sovereign future.”
Iraq’s territorial integrity
In the face of repeated Turkish and Iranian bombardments on Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, Sudani strongly denounced foreign interference and warned other countries to respect its sovereignty while calling on armed groups to not use the country as a zone to launch cross-border attacks.
“We firmly reject any interference in our internal affairs, as stipulated by our constitution. Iraq is committed to not being used as a base for aggression against other nations,” he said. “We call upon all parties to respect Iraq’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
On Monday, A drone strike blamed on Turkey killed three Kurdish counterterrorism members in Sulaimani’s Arbat airport, and while Ankara did not claim responsibility, it said in a statement the following day that Syrian Kurdish forces it claims are linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were receiving training at the airport during the “explosion.”
Iraq strongly condemned the attack, with President Abdul Latif Rashid announcing his intention to summon the Turkish ambassador to Baghdad over the incident.
The UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) condemned the attack on the airport on Tuesday, stating that “Attacks repeatedly violating Iraqi sovereignty must stop. Security concerns must be addressed through dialogue and diplomacy - not strikes.”
Turkey frequently bombards suspected PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, mostly in the bordering areas of the Region’s Erbil, Sulaimani, and Duhok provinces as well as Iraq’s Nineveh province, but sometimes as deep inland as Makhmour.
The PKK is a Kurdish group fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey and has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish state for decades. Ankara has designated it as a terrorist organization and frequently targets the group’s suspected positions in the Kurdistan Region and Syria.
“We retain the right to take necessary measures, in line with international laws and conventions, to deter any violations against Iraq,” Sudani stressed.
Climate change
Iraq has been continuously reeling from the effects of climate change and water scarcity. The country is the fifth-most vulnerable nation in the world to the effects of climate change, including water and food insecurity, according to the UN.
“Our region, including Iraq, is facing the severe impacts of drought due to climate change. It’s imperative that we protect our rights to water resources and international river basins,” Sudani said in his UN address.
“The depletion of national water sources in the marshes represents both an environmental and historical tragedy,” he added. “The environmental catastrophe will become even more critical for Iraq and the surrounding region as temperatures continue to rise.”
Water levels in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers - shared by Iraq, Syria, and Turkey - have dropped considerably in recent years. In the latest stark warning of the threats a heating climate poses to the country, a report by Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources towards the end of last year predicted that unless urgent action is taken to combat declining water levels, Iraq’s two main rivers will be entirely dry by 2040.
The UN Environment Program (UNEP) has long warned that water availability in Iraq is set to decrease by around 20 percent by 2025, threatening the long-term stability of Iraq’s agriculture and industry.
As a solution to the water issue, Sudani proposed the formation of a regional alliance including Iran and countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to “address water management, combat climate change, bolster environmental conservation, and jointly tackle drought-related challenges.”
