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Iraq PM says country’s treasury ‘almost empty’, sovereignty ‘violated’

May 20, 2020 at 8:59 am

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi in Baghdad, Iraq on 12 May 2020 [Iraqi Prime Ministry/Anadolu Agency]

Iraq’s new Prime Minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, said yesterday that when he assumed his duties the country’s treasury had been almost “empty”.

In an article published in the Baghdad Today newspaper, Al-Kadhimi said: “When I assumed my duties, I found nothing but an almost empty treasury and an unenviable situation after 17 years of change.”

“Our sovereignty continued to be deficient, violated or subject to doubts,” he said.

“The lands of our country are meant to become a field of struggle for others, and the security of our citizens is threatened, not only by Daesh and its sleeper cells, but also by weapons held outside the framework of the state,” he said.

Al-Kadhimi said the crisis engulfs all state institutions and impedes the country’s economic revival.

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According to the article, the past period did not witness any attempts to advance vital sectors such as industry, investment and food security.

He called on the political blocs in parliament to support the new government by voting on candidates for the vacant ministries.

“Restoring the state prestige requires that the power of any party should not be above the constitution and the law, and that arms are only held by the state and its armed forces,” he said.