Iraq's investment pitch: institutions or exceptions?

WASHINGTON, United States — Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani's meetings with major U.S. companies during his visit to Washington are being viewed as a notable step in bilateral economic ties. Companies present at the talks included Chevron and ExxonMobil, whose annual revenues exceed the size of the Iraqi economy. The firms are known to base investment decisions on concrete factors such as market size, legal protections, policy stability, security conditions and transparency, rather than on political statements. Sudani's address focused on cooperation and facilitation but did not include specific indicators such as growth rates, target investment volumes or priority sectors, observers said. A pledge of bureaucratic exemptions for foreign companies is seen as unlikely to attract lasting investment unless accompanied by a comprehensive plan to address structural problems. The Iraqi Investment Commission's current setup is criticized for functioning more as a permit-issuing body than as a project-shaping institution, with no sectoral maps or land banks in place. Local investors face lengthy bureaucratic procedures while foreign companies are offered exceptional concessions, weakening the integration of domestic capital into the process. Analysts stress that sustainable investment requires the rule of law, stable regulations, a predictable economic vision and strong institutions.