1938: Iraq

The Arab Kingdom of Iraq continued in 1938 a period of quiet and orderly progress. An effort at speedy reforms undertaken during the short-lived military government of 1936-37 had been abandoned. Iraq's attention during 1938 was concentrated on its foreign policy. On the one hand Iraq tried to consolidate the Near Eastern Alliance which consisted of Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, in addition to Iraq, and to strengthen her alliance with Saudi Arabia. On the other hand the Iraqian Government was very much interested in the solution of the Palestinian question, and Iraq politicians tried several times to propose solutions or to intervene on behalf of the Palestinian Arabs. The Iraqian Government also accepted the invitation of the British Government to participate in the round-table conference in London which was to determine the further fate of Palestine.

The exploitation of the Iraqian oil wells progressed satisfactorily. The oil was conducted by pipe-lines across the Syrian desert to the two ports of Tripoli in the French mandated territory of Syria and of Haifa in the British mandated territory of Palestine. A new concession was granted for the exploration of the oil deposits in southern Mesopotamia.

Much attention was given to the economic modernization of Iraq. The Chamber of Deputies approved in May a five-year plan for public works, the cost estimated at $42,000,000, most of which is expected to be financed by contributions from the Iraq Petroleum Company. Part of this money is to go for the building of roads, bridges, and the telephone system; another part is for the construction of dams against floods, and another large part is for the strengthening of the army.