Iraq's Lost Treasure

Written in Arabic. Below is an English summary — read the full article in Arabic ←.

In this essay, the chairman surveys the extraordinary roster of Iraqi scientists working abroad — pioneers in occupational medicine, telecommunications, nuclear engineering, structural engineering, biotechnology and more, many of them NISA members — and asks why their offers of help are so often met with indifference at home.

He argues that these scientists have become "intellectual exports" benefiting the developed world, while proposals they submit to Iraqi institutions land in wastepaper baskets — not for lack of merit, but through bureaucracy, corruption and the absence of strategic vision. Each one of them, he writes, "represents an entire university, a research centre, and the dream of a national project."

The essay closes with a practical programme: a national council, chaired by a respected figure, for direct engagement with scientists abroad; strategic partnerships between Iraqi universities and the institutions where these scientists work; fellowship and supervision programmes for Iraqi postgraduates; and streamlined procedures with proper recognition. "Iraq possesses the most precious human wealth in the world. All that is required is to extend our hands sincerely and say: we want you — your country needs you."