Abstract

The study aims to know the need of developing countries in general and Iraq in particular, a great interest in the investment sector in order to support economic growth and finance sustainable development plans, which puts the responsibility in front of the decision maker in order to create an appropriate environment for the promotion and flow of investment in a manner that suits the characteristics of the local economy, that the imbalance in the structure of the output In Iraq, foreign direct investment is needed in order to correct it. The research problem is that foreign direct investment in Iraq faced local and external challenges that caused its weak impact on economic growth. The research hypothesis is that supporting foreign direct investment is a safe way to correct the imbalance of the output structure in Iraq. Research methodology the net inflows from direct foreign investment to the domestic product were used as a representative of foreign direct investment, the economic growth index and the statement of the required impact by adopting the economic measurement approach - the joint integration methodology for the period (2004-2018). The research concluded that the impact of foreign direct investment on economic growth in Iraq is not significant due to the unstable economic conditions. The research recommended the importance of adopting a long-term investment strategy that takes into account foreign direct investment as a cornerstone in building the Iraqi economy.