Iraq is formally stepping into the regional artificial intelligence race, with the country’s Ministry of Planning spearheading discussions to establish a comprehensive national AI strategy. The initiative aims to create a clear roadmap with measurable goals tailored to the nation’s capabilities and long-term ambitions.
Quick Facts
- Focus on a national AI strategy.
- Plan for a sovereign “Iraq LLM”.
- Building national AI infrastructure.
High-Level Officials Convene to Define AI Roadmap
A high-level meeting chaired by the Ministry’s Undersecretary for Technical Affairs, Dr. Maher Hammad Johan, brought together key figures to refine the strategy’s objectives. The discussion included the Prime Minister’s Adviser on Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Diaa Al-Jumaili, and Abbas Abd Al-Kazim, Director General of the Information Technology Department at the Central Statistical Organisation.
Also present were members from the National Centre for Artificial Intelligence, which operates under the Prime Minister’s Office, demonstrating a coordinated, top-down approach to formalizing the country’s AI direction.
The Push for a Sovereign “Iraq LLM”
A central point of the discussion was the mechanism for establishing a sovereign national language model, dubbed the “Iraq LLM”. This move signals an intent to develop proprietary AI technology that can understand local dialects and cultural contexts, reducing reliance on external models and ensuring data sovereignty.
Building the Infrastructure for a National AI Vision
The strategy also addresses the foundational layer of AI development: infrastructure. The plan includes a hybrid approach, leveraging both local physical servers and cloud computing resources provided by the Information Technology Department. This focus on building a robust hardware and cloud backbone is critical to supporting the computational demands of national-scale AI projects like the Iraq LLM.
About Iraq’s Ministry of Planning
The Ministry of Planning is a government body in Iraq responsible for formulating the country’s national development plans, economic strategies, and statistical analysis. It plays a central role in coordinating long-term projects and policies across various sectors to achieve national growth and development objectives.
Source: Iraq Business News
