Iraq has recently overcome a political crisis that lasted for several months, forming a new government at the end of October, but the situation in the country still remains difficult. Ilya Lobov, economic adviser to the Russian Embassy in Baghdad, in an interview with RIA Novosti special correspondent Anton Bystrov, told how Moscow plans to develop relations with the new Iraqi authorities and in what areas, why trade turnover has increased, as well as what prospects are opening up in nuclear cooperation with Baghdad.
– At the end of September, representatives of Russian business were supposed to visit Iraq on a business mission. Could you tell us about the goals of this trip and its results?– Mutual visits of Russian and Iraqi businessmen have long been an important part of bilateral trade and economic relations.
Businessmen are exploring the possibilities of purchasing manufactured goods, primarily food and agricultural products. At the same time, due to the aggravation of the internal political situation in Iraq, it was decided to postpone the mentioned business mission of our companies for an indefinite period.
But it is worth noting that the dialogue of our entrepreneurs successfully continued on another platform – a representative business delegation from Iraq (more than 50 people) took part in the international Forum "Made in Russia" in Moscow on October 20-22. During the visit, they established useful contacts with Russian partners, and also got acquainted with the advanced achievements of Russian companies.
– In addition to economic events, are other high-level events being worked out now, for example, the visit of Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein to Moscow or Sergey Lavrov to Baghdad? When can the trips take place?– Regular confidential contacts are traditionally maintained at the level of the Ministries of Russia and Iraq.
On the sidelines of various international platforms, our ministers hold meetings to "check the clock" on topical issues of the global and regional agenda. Taking into account the completion of the process of forming a new government, we plan to return to the topic of organizing mutual visits of the Foreign Ministers of Russia and Iraq in the near future.
– Russian companies such as Lukoil, Gazpromneft, Rosneft operate in Iraq. Does the political instability in the Middle Eastern country affect their work? Are they planning to reduce their presence in Iraq? And the extension?– Despite the difficult military and political situation in the country, our oil and gas companies fully comply with their contractual conditions to their Iraqi partners and are making plans to develop relations with an eye to the long-term perspective.
We state that the anti-Russian sanctions have become an additional negative factor on the way to strengthening bilateral cooperation in this area. For example, financial settlements in international banks have become more complicated, especially in US dollars. At the same time, our Iraqi partners understand the benefits and huge prospects from working together with our operators. A close dialogue is being conducted on an ongoing basis to develop mutually acceptable solutions to solve all emerging problems.
In the current conditions, the focus of special attention of Russian oil workers remains social obligations in the form of preserving jobs for the local population, as well as other programs focused on socio-economic support. I am referring to the construction of infrastructure facilities, the supply of food and medicines, the implementation of basic and additional vocational training programs.
With regard to the further development of the oil and gas partnership, we expect that in the near future it will be possible to enter the commercial stage of the development of a large promising project "Block 10", the implementation of which is carried out by Lukoil. Geological exploration at the field has been completed, the results have been presented to the Ministry of Oil of Iraq. We expect early approval from local partners to move to the next stage of implementation.
In a similar vein, the situation is with Bashneft, which is developing the Block 12 oil field. The exploration of hydrocarbon resources will soon be completed, and our oil workers have also started preparing a declaration for the transition to the stage of industrial oil production.
– Earlier, the office of Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, who is the co-chairman of the Russian-Iraqi intergovernmental commission, reported that the trade turnover between Russia and Iraq fell by half in 2020, but in 2021 it began to grow. Will it be possible to reach the pre-pandemic indicators of trade turnover in 2022? Has it grown compared to last year?– I would like to inform you that for eight months of this year, the trade turnover between Russia and Iraq has already exceeded the figures for the whole of last year.
In value terms, this is 313.1 million US dollars, whereas in 2021 our mutual trade reached 282.7 million dollars. If we compare with the year before last, then we generally record a multiple increase of 2.5 times. The positive dynamics was influenced by a significant increase in the volume of purchases of our sunflower oil, wheat flour, as well as animal feed. But we don't stop there. The trade sections of the Embassies of Russia and Iraq, in close cooperation with the Russian-Iraqi Business Council, are constantly working to find new opportunities for the growth of bilateral trade and the diversification of its commodity nomenclature.
– You said that Russian companies are showing interest in working in Iraq. Which ones, and whether the unstable situation repels them? Are there any economic operators among them that are not related to the fuel and energy complex?– Historically, energy has been a priority area of economic partnership between Russia and Iraq.
The total volume of Russian expenditures and investments in this industry exceeds $ 14 billion. At the same time, within the framework of the Russian-Iraqi commission on trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation, experts from various departments, organizations and companies are discussing a number of promising areas of mutual interest, including in non-energy sectors of the economy.
In practical terms, I would like to highlight separately a major project for the reconstruction and modernization of a large glass and ceramic production plant in the city of Ramadi, Anbar province. The Russian Industrial Consortium in the interests of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources of Iraq has started the practical implementation of the project. Our partners expect that after the launch, the plant will become the largest employer in Ramadi, and more than one thousand new jobs will be created for the local population. In the near future, an expert working group consisting of 20 narrow specialists in the field of technology and production of glass and ceramic products will begin a substantive study of the production site.
– Alexander Kinshchak, Director of the Department of the Middle East and North Africa of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an interview with RIA Novosti that Moscow is ready to assist Baghdad in the non-energy use of nuclear energy. Is there any progress in this issue at the moment? And speaking separately about energy, has Moscow received a request from Baghdad for the construction of a nuclear power plant in Iraq?– Iraq has traditionally shown interest in Russian nuclear energy.
Within the framework of the agreement on cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy signed in 1975, Russia and Iraq in previous years resumed the negotiation process on establishing partnership in this area. Rosatom and the Iraqi Agency for the Control of Radioactive Materials are considering the possibility of implementing small projects in the field of low-power research reactors, as well as non-energy applications of nuclear technologies in medicine, agriculture and water desalination. Preparations are underway to sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of non-energy applications of nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes. The parties are also discussing cooperation in the field of education in the form of admission of Iraqi students to study at Russian specialized universities.
– When is it planned to hold the Russian-Iraqi intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation?– We expect that after the final completion of the government formation process, we will receive proposals from the Iraqi side on the proposed dates for the next, tenth meeting of the Russian-Iraqi intergovernmental commission.