Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani praised the efforts of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), stressing that the Iraqi experience in social protection is one of the pioneering experiences, as it witnessed the transition from the stage of providing cash subsidies to granting conditional subsidies to address multidimensional poverty. The Prime Minister’s Media Office stated in a statement: “Al-Sudani received, yesterday evening, Sunday, Baghdad time, the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) at the United Nations, Ms. Rola Abdullah Dashti, on the sidelines of his participation in New York in the meetings of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
The meeting witnessed, according to the statement, a review of the current programs of the international organization in the fields of social protection, water, environment, and confronting climate change, and the areas in which cooperation between Iraq and ESCWA can be developed, especially in supporting digital transformation, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence.
The statement added: “Al-Sudani appreciated the efforts of the international organization during the previous stage, stressing that the Iraqi experience in social protection is one of the pioneering experiences, as it witnessed the transition from the stage of providing cash subsidies to granting conditional subsidies to address multidimensional poverty, as social protection included approximately 2.2 million families, in addition to the importance of cooperation with ESCWA within the framework of updating the approved poverty reduction strategy,” indicating the government’s endeavor to adopt the sectors of digital transformation and artificial intelligence, and getting the best experiences to implement them at the national level.
During the meeting, Al-Sudani discussed ways to activate communication with the international organization by enhancing Iraq’s share of employees in ESCWA, since Iraq has qualified technical expertise, pointing out: “The necessity of opening up horizons for cooperation in the field of implementing the population census that will be implemented at the end of this year, in addition to developing programs aimed at empowering women economically.”
The Prime Minister raised the issue of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which has been subjected to continuous aggression for months, and the role of the international organization, and ESCWA in particular, in alleviating the impact of these conditions on our Palestinian people in all occupied territories.
For her part, Ms. Dashti indicated ESCWA’s desire to provide expertise and technical support in all development fields, especially supporting Iraqi social protection programs to be part of the stage of improving the conditions of its beneficiaries, by benefiting from successful international experiences in this path.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency