PM Al-Sudani: Iraq’s Riyada Initiative delivers 22,000 jobs

Shafaq News – Baghdad

On Sunday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that nearly half a million people have registered for the government’s Riyada Initiative, which has so far created around 22,000 jobs through loans.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s media office, nearly half a million Iraqis aged 18 to 50 have registered for the program. Over the past 18 months, more than 90,000 participants have undergone training, 48,000 have completed it, and 12,000 loans have been disbursed.

The Parliamentary Committee on Labor, Social Affairs, and Displaced Persons pointed out that nearly 15 million Iraqis are unemployed. Among the government’s responses to this crisis is the Riyada Initiative, launched in March 2023 to support young people through loans and small projects aimed at boosting the private sector and creating jobs. Training activities began in July 2023, and the first batch of loans was released in March 2024, drawing broad participation from Iraqi youth.