ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq is preparing to host an international entrepreneurship summit to boost investment in the country’s lacking private sector, the planning ministry said on Thursday, as the public sector remains bloated and low on funds. 

“The summit represents an important opportunity to discuss new paths for development, innovation, and economic diversification, all of which contribute to advancing the business experience, working environment, and investment across the region,” ministry spokesperson Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi told The New Region. 

In March, Iraq’s Council of Ministers approved the hosting of the Arab Entrepreneurship Summit 2026 in Baghdad in November, forming a preparatory committee to oversee arrangements. 

According to Hindawi, the summit will “bring together business owners from Arab countries, small and medium enterprise owners, government institutions, investors, and business sector experts alongside regional and international organizations.”

The main sectors the summit plans to help promote and support are technology, renewable energy, water management, recycling, and waste utilization projects, with Iraq suffering from low water levels, inadequate recycling facilities, and overreliance on oil. 

“The event will give greater momentum to the private sector and investment,” Hindawi asserted.

Due to ongoing unrest, corruption, and heavy dependence on oil income, Iraq’s private sector remains highly underdeveloped. 

Iraq’s economy is mainly dominated by the public sector, accounting for near 40 percent of the country’s total employment, while private businesses struggle with getting access to finances, bureaucracy, and lack of stability.

Meanwhile, oil revenues generate around 60 percent of Iraq’s GDP but only employs a small fraction of the workforce, pressuring the government into introducing ways to diversify the economy through private-sector employment.