BAGHDAD, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- The Iraqi deputy prime minister said the outlook for 2008 is positive as the improved security situation provides room for political solidarity.
Barham Salih said 2008 will be a year of political progress for Iraq. In an interview with the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, Salih said that despite the current situation in Iraq resembling more of a cease-fire than an end to the conflict, Iraq's political leaders should work toward a government that promotes solidarity among its various factions by embracing "basic visions and principles."
"Iraq should have an all-encompassing and cohesive government ... in order to solve the various problems from which we suffer, notably extremism and terrorism, which should be eradicated from the country's social and political scenes," he said.
Salih said "people are now breathing more easily" in Iraq's Anbar province and in parts of Baghdad. This places a heavy burden on politicians to expand on the improvement in security by establishing a unified central government that will provide Iraq with a "real national peace."
Iraq needs and deserves an effective government that can utilize all of the national resources to fight corruption and violence to bring about an economically viable Iraq, he said.
Salih pointed to an estimate by the International Monetary Fund that said the economic growth prediction for the Iraqi economy would exceed 7 percent in 2008.
The 2008 budget, he said, carries more than $4 billion from the 2007 budget and provides $14 billion for investments.
"This is an unprecedented figure for Iraq," he said.
