Iraq to Join Global Transparency Effort

With EITI announcement, Iraqi leaders make historic investment in national and regional stability

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK—The Revenue Watch Institute today congratulated the Government of Iraq as it formally announced that it would join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), taking a historic step toward the efficient and open management of its oil industry.

	Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki at the launch of the Iraqi Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in Baghdad. photo: Ben Lando/Iraq Oil Report

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki announced Iraq's EITI participation Sunday at a launch event in Baghdad attended by government leaders, members of Iraqi civil society and international groups, including the Revenue Watch Institute and the World Bank.

Iraq controls the world's second largest oil reserves and relies on oil for 90 percent of government revenue. By committing to the voluntary global initiative it has established itself as the Middle East's most important champion of the principles of transparency and accountability in the management of oil and gas resources.

Karin Lissakers, director of Revenue Watch, said that Iraq's decision will have a direct impact on the country's economy and on national and regional stability.

"A successful EITI process will bolster a prosperous and unified Iraq," said Lissakers. "Oil minister Hussain al-Shahristani and his colleagues deserve warm congratulations for this investment in the future of Iraq, its citizens and the entire region."

Lissakers added that the EITI standard of government partnership with citizens in revenue management will be a powerful tool in Iraq's struggle for political stability. "This commitment to the EITI is a commitment to government collaboration with an independent civil society, which in turn builds public trust in government," she said. "Iraq's history of conflict, regional division and corruption makes civil society's involvement in the EITI process especially important."

CONTACT:
Jed Miller, +1 917 257-0670, jmiller@revenuewatch.org

LEARN MORE

• Iraq: Counting Backward (The New York Times)
• Questions About Fairness May Delay Iraq-Shell Gas Deal
• To Succeed, an Iraqi National Oil Company Needs an Iraqi Oil Law
• OVERVIEW: Iraq

A version of this press release was originally published on January 11, 2009.