Speech of Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani at the Baghdad International Dialog Conference

The website of the Iraqi Institute for Dialog publishes the speech of His Excellency Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani during the opening of the fifth edition of the Baghdad International Dialog Conference.

The following is the text of the word

I thank the Iraqi Institute for Dialog for organizing this conference, and I welcome the researchers, academics, and specialists who came from all over the world to participate, which shows that Iraq has regained its natural position as an incubator for dialogs and conferences.

On the eve of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the dictatorial regime, we recall the pain and suffering of our people in those years that were dominated by absurd wars and systematic sabotage, until the moment of change came in 2003, and the people of Iraq became the decision-maker, so the masses of Iraqis flocked in 2005 to the ballot boxes with elections that defied missiles and suicide terrorist attacks.

The most important challenge began with the selection of a permanent constitution to end the anomaly of the dictatorial regime, which drafted an interim constitution that matched its mood, without any regard or consideration for the fundamental rights of all Iraqis.

On October 15, 2005, Iraqis chose a permanent constitution that establishes citizenship and guarantees all freedoms, and has become the safe ceiling that Iraqis can enjoy after living under the shadow of fear and oppression.

The scenes of corpses lying in the streets as a result of identity killings have been alien to Iraqis who have lived together for hundreds of years, accepting each other without sensitivity or sectarian alarm, or racial or national hatred.

And came the shock of the occupation of the terrorist organization Daesh of large areas of our provinces, and then mobilized all Iraqis, after the fatwa of the competent jihad, and gather them, and crowded on the berms to write the most wonderful stories about a people who overcame their wounds, and fought the fiercest battles to liberate their land from the worst terrorist gang.

After we have gone through the ordeal, the effects of procrastination have been evident, complaints of mismanagement and waste of funds have been growing, and we have seen many signs of indignation at the inability of State institutions to reform and carry out their duties, and after difficult labor, during the post-liberation years, our present Government has come.

This government has drawn up an ambitious and comprehensive program that works to promote Iraq and move it towards investing all its wealth and energies and employing them to compensate for the years of destruction it has missed.

And the most important thing here is to take Iraq to the banks of political calm away from the differences that have disrupted us a lot from serving our people who have long been patient on us. We made the determination, and we depended on God, to accomplish what was delayed, and to build what was planned.

We proceed from confidence in the country's capabilities to move the joints of the economy and create new jobs, develop services, combat poverty, expand the circle of those covered by social welfare, and revive health insurance.

The private sector, which we have given an important role in the extraordinary budget that we voted for three years in a bold step, is participating in these programs, as an expression of a clear vision that establishes a serious and different stage, and for the start of the reconstruction movement, which we will follow up closely, whether through personal follow-up or through the government committees that we formed.

We will not tolerate any retreat, delay or imbalance that may cause people's money to be exploited for self-interest, partisan or factional. The national wealth belongs to all Iraqis.

We are determined to fight the corruption pandemic, the great battle in which we have lost all our other battles.

The victory comes only from cooperation between all state institutions, and the concerted efforts of the executive, legislative and judicial authorities will pave the way to achieve all the goals set out from which we only seek the face of God, Iraq, and the satisfaction of our people.

And the biggest challenge is to restore the confidence of the citizen, which has declined as a result of poor performance, the multiplicity of promises and words, and the lack of actions and achievement.

The system that has ended with its figures and formations is still residing in many facilities, and we are still suffering from an outdated legal system and a central mentality that is ragged, which requires firmness in reform and haste to put things in order.

And the past, with all its trials and devastation, has become an important lesson for us today to prove to ourselves and the whole world that Iraq, no matter how much it climbed on the back of adversity, and no matter how much its capabilities failed it because of dictatorship and mismanagement, it has the will and the ingredients to rise and return to the places that befit it.

We have diverse fortunes that are a source of strength. Human, constituent, natural, civilizational and cultural wealth. They are riches that make Iraq a country capable of making uniqueness and distinction.