Text of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s speech at the Transforming Education Summit held in New York during the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly:

Your Excellency the Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Your Majesties and Excellencies,

Peace be upon you and God›s mercy and blessings

I am pleased to greet you on behalf of my country, Iraq.

I extend my gratitude to His Excellency, the Secretary-General, for holding this highly important event. I also grateful to Their Excellencies, the heads of delegations of the participating countries, to discuss critical challenges facing the educational sector.

I am very honored to represent my country, Iraq, the cradle of civilizations, where the first written languages, and the laws to organize human life were written.

In the last century, Iraq witnessed a pioneering educational development. It was a regional beacon in the field of education with its academic institutions; illiteracy rate was reduced to its lowest levels. However, after two devastating wars, economic sanctions, another war, collapse of the totalitarian regime, and devastating social, economic, and political crises, education in Iraq deteriorated dramatically.

During our democratic era, Iraq was keen to develop and strengthen its educational system. The new Iraqi constitution regulated public education and educational policy. It enshrined the individua’s right to education, making it mandatory at the primary stages and free of charge at all levels.

Mr. President, the Government of Iraq has taken urgent and exceptional measures to overcome the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We sought to support the tools for self-learning and distance education through online platforms and portals; shifting to integrated digitization that includes educational curricula, educational administration.

The Government of Iraq renews its commitment to implementing the objectives of the National Strategy for Public Education and Higher Education for the year 2030, the most important of which is achieving 100% school enrollment rate, improving the quality of basic and higher education, and enhancing skills in accordance with the requirements of the labor market and economic development.

We have sought to ensure a sustainable funding for the education sector, increasing the education sector’s share to reach 4.5% of GDP, increasing government investment in education from 7% for the current year to 10% in 2031, and securing funding through the state budget for financing the “Development and Reform of Education Transformation Projects.”

Mr. President, we meet today in pursuit of achieving the fourth goal of sustainable development, “Quality Education,” which you emphasized in your comprehensive vision titled  “Our Common Agenda”  which the Government of Iraq has taken very seriously. We have adopted a comprehensive national program that aims to reduce learning gaps, by 2030, in terms of gender, people with special needs, internally displaced individuals, and poorer sectors of the society.

We believe in the need to invest in education to rebuild our nation. We launched a project to build hundreds of schools in the various governorates of Iraq, in addition to facilitating the procedures of establishing universities and colleges.

In conclusion, Iraq calls on the international community to support its vision of the “Education Transformation Program” in the technical fields, staff training, digital transformation, and infrastructure rehabilitation. We look forward to enhanced cooperation and exchange of expertise internationally in all areas of education development.

Thank you very much.