Recently, Iraqi Minister of Industry Khalid Batar Najim announced that the Iraqi Ministry of Industry has signed two important investment cooperation agreements with China's Shangxin Company to promote the development of important industrial sectors in the country. These two agreements involve the construction of a steel plant and a multifunctional industrial city in Basra Province, with a total investment scale of over 2 billion US dollars.

The main content of the first cooperation agreement is to build a steel plant in Basra to produce and process sponge iron and other products, with a planned annual production capacity of 1 million tons. The project is located near the Khor Zubair Port in the southern province of Basra, Iraq, adjacent to the Basra State owned Steel Plant. The main content of the second cooperation agreement is to cooperate in the construction of a multifunctional industrial city and heavy industry base in Basra Province.

Iraqi Minister of Industry Khalid Batar Najim emphasized that due to the importance and scale of the project, the negotiation process took a long time, from 2023 or even earlier until now. The project encountered some complex situations in the legal process, but with the direct support of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Sia Sudani, all obstacles have been overcome. The Ministry of Industry has also dispelled doubts from the outside world about its ability to execute large-scale industrial projects.

It is reported that the actual signing party of the project is the well-known steel and mineral investment and development enterprise Qingshan Holdings Group. As early as October 2023, the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of Iraq led a team to inspect Qingshan Holdings, during which they visited multiple industrial sectors under Qingshan Holdings, including Xintuo Company, Qingshan Indonesia's two major industrial parks, and Qingtuo Group. In December 2023, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Sia Sudani met with Zhang Jimin, Chairman of Qing Shan Holdings Group, and his delegation. The two sides plan to strengthen cooperation in the field of mineral resources.

Until February 2025, the Iraqi High level Reconstruction and Investment Committee, led by Prime Minister Mohamed Sudani, held a meeting and officially approved two key industrial construction projects led by the ministry, one of which is the Basra Steel Plant project. The meeting proposed that the industrial plan be developed in collaboration between a private enterprise that submits the most competitive technological and financial solutions and the government.

This signing marks an important step forward in the cooperation between China and Iraq in the industrial field, which will not only promote the development of Iraq's industry, but also provide new opportunities for Chinese enterprises to invest in the Middle East region. (This article is from the official website of Jian Dao www.seetao.com. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jian Dao website+original link when reprinting.) Jian Dao website strategy column editor/Wu Juan