The signing ceremony of a memorandum of cooperation between the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) and the Japan International Cooperation Corporation (JICA) took place today, under the patronage of Prime Minister Muhammad Shia Al-Sudani, in the presence of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning, Muhammad Tamim, and the technical advisor to the Prime Minister, Chairman of the Diwani Order Committee for Sovereign Guarantees, Muhammad Sahib Al-Daraji. The Prime Minister's media office stated that the memorandum of cooperation comes within the framework of the government's initiative to grant sovereign guarantees to the private sector, and also within the work of the special committee for sovereign guarantees covered by the General Budget Law for the year 2023, and Cabinet Resolution No. (23404) for the year 2023. The memorandum includes the Japanese Foundation financing projects for the Iraqi private sector, to establish factories inside Iraq, with the aim of localizing the national industry in the field of pharmaceutical, construction, chemical, petrochemical, energy, agricultural and food industries. This is in implementation of what was included in the government program, to support and localize strategic industries, and based on the directives of the Prime Minister in this regard. In light of the memorandum, an initial amount of $200 million will be provided to finance important projects that provide a service to the Iraqi citizen and economy, and which will contribute to reducing foreign imports, as well as reducing hard currency transfers abroad. According to the statement, the memorandum aims to raise the efficiency of Iraqi companies to the global level, through openness to international banks for financing, and controlling quality by concluding agreements with major industrial countries. Source: National Iraqi News Agency