Sayyid Al-Hakeem: to Overcome Economic Challenge Requires Patience, Steadfastness, Hard Work, National Unity

From Al-Sudair district in Al-Diwaniyah Governorate, at the guesthouse of Al-Sadah Al-Amyal tribe, H.E. Sayyid Al-Hakeem, Head of the National State Powers' Alliance, met with a large gathering of sayyids, sheikhs, and dignitaries of Al-Diwaniyah Governorate, affirming that the purpose of the visit was to serve Al-Diwaniyah and work toward meeting its needs, and extending his congratulations on the anniversary of the Prophet's noble birth (Mawlid) and the birth of Imam Al-Sadiq (PBUH). H.E. stressed the importance of the historic relationship with the tribes of Al-Diwaniyah, noting that Iraq has endured security crises in confronting terrorism, as well as social crises resulting from sectarian conflict, in addition to political conflict, affirming that Iraq has moved past all of these challenges, with the economic and development challenge remaining.
H.E. affirmed that the selection of Mr. Al-Zaidi stemmed from the nature of the economic challenge, expressing his confidence in overcoming this challenge, which requires patience, steadfastness, work, national unity, and an understanding of the circumstances. H.E. noted that Iraq is witnessing a sharp decline in oil production and exports, which has negatively affected the budget and financial resources, pointing to the priority given to employee salaries and the dues owed to farmers and contractors, affirming that this contributes to sustaining economic momentum, providing job opportunities, reclaiming land, ensuring food security, and advancing service projects.
H.E. expressed his support for the program-based budget and its focus on specific files to achieve a qualitative leap, affirming that the selection fell on the poorest and most in-need governorates, such as Al-Diwaniyah and Salah Al-Din, with importance given to focusing on electricity as the key to development. H.E. considered the financial crisis stemming from the regional crisis to be temporary and short-lived given the pressure it places on the global economy, stressing the importance of diversifying oil export outlets through a pipeline network, along with the importance of diversifying income sources and activating productive sectors such as agriculture, industry, tourism, investment, and modern technology.
H.E. stressed moving forward with the project of consolidating weapons under state authority, considering it a pressing file at this stage, commending all efforts that have contributed to restoring the state and sovereignty and to fighting the terrorist ISIS, and noting that weapons are to be handed over to the Popular Mobilization Forces as a legal and security institution under the authority of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.