10 years of local government cooperation with Iraq

The Swedish Association and Local Authorities and the governorate of Diwaniyah in Iraq have been partners for more than a decade.

Zeinab, programs manager in Diwaniyah, recently joined the Governor of Diwaniyah, Zuhair Al Shaalan, to present the conclusions of the Local Governance Development in Iraq project and at the same time initiate a dialogue of a future cooperation.

In the dialogue with the Governor, Zeinab highlighted the cooperation regarding the internal environment of the Administrative and Financial Affairs Directorate and the financial E-governance.

Supporting the national decentralization process, SALAR together with the Iraqi partner IRFAD have also prepared critical manuals clarifying the roles and responsibilities between the local and the central government.

The Governor confirmed that the local government is proud of the results, especially as some of these have been approved by the central government and officially circulated nationally to the rest of the local governments for the purpose of adaptation.

The financial E-governance system introduced by the Local Development in Iraq Project has helped to manage to overcome obstacles in the financial management of the governorate as well as enabling the governorate to formulate and implement its public policy through the preparation of effective plans.