Planning minister says Iraq seeks to decrease dependence on oil

Iraq-Oil BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s Planning Minister, Ali Baban, on Monday said that decreasing Iraq’s dependence on oil and diversifying its resources are the biggest challenge Iraq faces in developing its economic reality. “Iraq faces a number of challenges to improve the economic reality; decreasing dependence on oil, diversifying income resources and the success in allocating investment amounts in the general budget,” Ali Baban told IraqiNews.com news agency. “Encouraging foreign investments are among the challenges facing the country, and despite enacting a special investment law, the government’s bureaucracy habmpers many projects,” he also said. SH (P)/SR 1