Iraq's 2050 development plan eyes 1 million housing plots nationwide

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's government is preparing to submit its 2050 national development plan to parliament as a draft law, Prime Minister Ali Falih al-Zeydi said during a meeting in Baghdad with UN Deputy Secretary General and UNDP Director Abdullah al-Dardari. The plan prioritizes allocating 1 million housing plots across all Iraqi cities, distributed according to population size and poverty rates. It also calls for reviewing existing economic laws to align them with the government's new development policies. The talks covered project financing, expanded social protection programs, the establishment of a development fund, and support for the return of displaced Yazidis to their home areas. Al-Dardari congratulated the government on securing a parliamentary vote of confidence and said UNDP stands ready to assist Iraq, particularly on Yazidi returns and institutional reform. No further details on the draft law's parliamentary timetable were immediately available.