China on track to complete the building of 1000 schools in Iraq

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
22 Jun 2023 21:20
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The Chinese deal with Iraq signifies the contrariety between US practices in the Middle East and those of China.

Laborers work on the construction site for a school as part of an Iraqi-Chinese deal to rejuvenate the Iraqi educational sector in the city of Nasiriyah, Iraq, July 20, 2022 (AFP)

China is on track to build 1,000 schools in Iraq as promised in a deal signed back in December 2021.

In an earlier report, Seato revealed that the foundation stone-laying ceremony was held on June 18, 2022, signaling the initiation of the mega project.

Social media users took the opportunity to point out the disparency between Chinese relations with Iraq and that of the US which committed mass atrocities in the country when it invaded back in 2004 after leading the campaign for its besiegement for more than a decade.

America bombs, China builds! China builds 1,000 schools in Iraqhttps://t.co/L1kBPzq379 pic.twitter.com/syfAzTorJC
— Johannes Maria (@llNQf7dLuT90CWw) June 22, 2023

Talk about the Chinese aid plan to Iraq began to surface in December 2021, when Iraq signed agreements with two Chinese companies to build 1,000 schools in the country in a span of two years. The deals were signed in the presence of Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, with Power China pledging to build 679 facilities and Sinotech promising the remaining 321.

A few days after the announcement of the deal, the Iraqi Housing Minister announced that the country needs 8,000 schools after the US-led war destroyed the country's infrastructure and many of its sectors, including the educational one.