Regional Studies Center

Under the patronage of the President of the University of Mosul, Prof. Dr. Waheed Mahmood Al-Ibrahimi, and under the supervision of the Director of the Regional Studies Center, Prof. Dr. Mithaq Khairallah Jaloud, and within the framework of the Iraqi government’s orientations to pay attention to the International Development Road project, Regional Studies Center at the University of Mosul held its (61) scientific symposium under the title “Iraq and the International Development Road (IDR): Political, Economic and Strategic Importance”, on February 26, 2025.

The symposium aimed to follow up, study and analyze the dimensions of the International Development Road project and its importance to Iraq and the countries of the region from the political, economic and strategic aspects, and try to foresee the paths of the project and the stages of its completion, study its effects on the Iraqi economy, what the project needs from the infrastructure in the country by monitoring the available infrastructure, what it needs for development and addition and assessing its expected impact on the Iraqi economy.

In the first session, Assist. Prof. Dr. Nawfal Qasim Ali Al-Shahwan from Al-Noor University discussed “The Development Road from the submerged tunnel to the geopolitical trade clouds in the development of Iraq,” while Prof. Dr. Mahmood Salih from the Faculty of Arts addressed “Mosul and the International Development Road”. The symposium ‎included two scientific sessions during which researchers and academics presented various research papers. Assist. Prof. Dr. Tariq Mohammed Thanoon from the Faculty of Political Science presented a paper titled “Beyond Strategy: Adapting the Securitization Strategy to Iraq’s Development Road Project,” and Assist. Prof. Dr. Nizar Siddiq Elias from the Faculty of Management and Economics spoke on ”Iraq’s Strategic Project, the International Development Road: Objectives and Costs”.

In the second session, Assist. Prof. Dr. Abdul Razzaq Khalaf Mohammad from Regional Studies Center tackled “The Gulf Position on the International Development Road Project,” while Assist. Prof. Dr. Afrah Nathir Jassim from the College of Basic Education touched on “The International Development Road: Opportunities and Challenges.

Assist. Prof. Amna Abdullah Hamdoon and Dr. Aswan Abdul Qader from the College of Agriculture and Forestry presented a paper titled “The Role of Competitive Policies in the Economic Performance of Transportation Economics and Environment”. The session concluded with a paper presented by Saja Fattah Zeidan from the Faculty of Political Science on “Iraq and the Road to Development: The Impact of Political Thought in Shaping Development Policies and Achieving Economic Stability,” and another paper by Assist. lecturer Fawzi Mohammad Salih from Regional Studies Center titled ‘Turkey and the International Development Road’.

The symposium concluded with thorough discussions on its themes, and came up with significant recommendations aimed at strengthening Iraq’s role in the International Development Road project, in order to serve its economic, political and strategic interests at the regional and international levels.