Iraq Targets US Banks for Major Investment Push

Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi is on a mission to attract major US banks to invest in Iraq's growing economy. Last Thursday evening, he hosted a high-level roundtable meeting at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Iraq to the United Nations in New York. The gathering brought together top American commercial banks and financial institutions with Iraqi banking delegates, senior government officials, and economic analysts.

The Prime Minister emphasized that Iraq has embarked on an irreversible path towards structural economic transformation and banking sector modernization. He acknowledged that past vulnerabilities within the country's domestic banking ecosystem were partly rooted in institutional isolation and restricted interaction with global financial hubs, particularly American banking conglomerates.

Al-Zaidi extended an open invitation to US banks to establish direct operational footprints in the Iraqi market, highlighting that their entry would represent a qualitative leap towards elevating local banking practices, adopting international compliance standards, and deepening Iraq's integration into global capital networks. He noted that the country currently produces approximately 4.5 million barrels of crude oil per day, with federal energy policies actively targeting an expansion toward 10 million barrels per day over the long term.