Qatar plans $5bn investment to fuel Iraqi economy

Reuters/Iraqi Prime Minister Media Office

Qatar will invest $5 billion in Iraq over the coming years, after the two countries signed several memorandums of understanding to expand cooperation on investment and energy projects.

State-run Qatar News Agency reported the commitment, quoting Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The Qatari ruler oversaw the signing of the MoUs alongside Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani in Baghdad on Thursday.

Pacts were also signed with Qatar’s public and private sectors in the electricity, hotels and hospital management sectors.

These included establishing a joint company to build and operate oil tankers that carry crude oil and petroleum products and an agreement to build a 150,000 barrels per day oil refinery in Iraq.

Other MoUs signed were to build power stations and pipelines to supply liquefied natural gas to Iraq, and to supply Iraqi crude oil to Qatar’s refineries.

Qatar will also develop modern residential cities and five-star hotels in Baghdad, manage and operate hospitals in several Iraqi governorates, and develop and establish power stations in several Iraqi cities. 

The two leaders also witnessed the signing of agreements over air transport services and maritime transport, and to cancel travel visa requirements for holders of diplomatic passports.

Qatar said earlier this year that it would support regional economies through commercial investments instead of providing direct financial aid.

In January Reuters reported that Qatar was in talks to acquire a stake in French company TotalEnergies’ $27 billion energy projects in Iraq. QatarEnergy was looking to acquire a stake of around 30 percent in the project, the news agency reported, citing an unnamed source.