The Iraqi Prime Minister announces a partnership with Germany and expanding oil export sources

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Faleh al-Zaidi said today, Tuesday (September 15, 2026), that Iraq has many resources and we need the German experience and that Germany is a point of meeting and solution to global disputes.

Al-Zaidi said in a press statement with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the details of which were distributed by the Iraqi News Agency: “The relationship between Iraq and Germany is exceptional, and Iraq views Germany as a reliable partner, and German companies are welcome to work in Iraq, in addition to the fact that Germany has not left any negative impact in Iraq and is open to Europe and the United States.” He added: "We are far from the aggressive policy and Iraq's vision of expanding oil export sources, and Iraq cannot remain a hostage of one corridor in exporting its oil."

The Iraqi Prime Minister stated: “With regard to German prisoners in Iraq, this is a judicial decision, and the investigations regarding targeting Saudi Arabia are under investigation and the results are being analyzed, and the Kurdistan region is an essential part of the Iraqi state and has entitlements in accordance with the constitution and the law.” He stressed that "the security forces are capable of controlling Iraqi lands, and we are working to protect the skies of Iraq, and that the decision of war and peace is in the hands of the state."

Meretz: The economy represents the main focus of cooperation between the two countries

For his part, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed that "many of our companies in Iraq are doing pioneering work, and the Iraqi government has taken important steps in combating corruption, and we are ready to cooperate with Iraq in the military field." He said: “Iran must end the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Mertz said that the economy represents the main focus of cooperation between the two countries.

Before the war, Iraq produced about four million barrels per day, and exported an average of 3.4 million barrels, most of them through the Strait of Hormuz. The majority of its oil exports go to East Asia, and China and India are the largest importers.

The disruption to navigation prompted Baghdad to export crude via tankers via Syria, as well as via a pipeline reaching the Turkish port of Ceyhan, but these two routes can only accommodate a small portion of the volume of exports that were transported by sea.

The Iraqi Prime Minister hopes to raise his country's production to ten million barrels per day, considering that "a large portion of it, or nearly half of it," could go to European and Western countries.

Edited by: A.J.M