Agreements with Baghdad Soft Drinks Company and Green Iraq Company<\/p>\n
set out plans to work toward expanded manufacturing capacity and stronger local agriculture, in support of Iraq\u2019s ambition to become a regional hub<\/p>\n
\n
Ain Alalam – Rashad Iskandrni<\/p>\n
Jul. 21, 2026: PepsiCo is expanding its support for Iraqi industry, farmers, and jobs following two agreements with its partners, Baghdad Soft Drinks Company (BSDC) and Green Iraq Company (GICO), signed on the sidelines of the US-Iraq High-Level Business Summit at the US Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n
The agreements were signed during Iraq\u2019s Prime Minister His Excellency Ali al-Zaidi\u2019s visit to Washington DC and outline plans to work towards expanded local manufacturing capacity, modernized farming techniques and the country\u2019s aim to become a regional hub for food and beverage exports.<\/p>\n
The signings were among a series of commercial understandings reached during the summit, part of a broader wave of private sector investment accompanying the Prime Minister\u2019s visit. Together, they represent what is intended to be the parties\u2019 shared ambition to further expand PepsiCo\u2019s long-standing partnership with BSDC and GICO.<\/p>\n
HE Mustafa Nizar Jumaa Al-Ani, Minister of Trade of the Republic of Iraq, said: \u201cThis visit comes as part of the deepening bilateral relations between Iraq and the United States, which is a partnership built on mutual interests and respect. These agreements will contribute to jobs, local industry, and opportunities for our youth, all while supporting Iraq\u2019s economic diversification and competitiveness on the world stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
The partnership with GICO aims to expand the company\u2019s manufacturing capabilities over time, supporting Iraq\u2019s ambitions to grow as a food exporter. It also aims to deepen ties with Iraqi farmers through the transfer of modern irrigation and farming knowledge, strengthening the Republic\u2019s agricultural sector.<\/p>\n
Ahmed Elsheikh, CEO of Foods, Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan, PepsiCo, said: \u201cAs one of the region\u2019s historic farming heartlands, we want to support Iraq\u2019s agricultural potential and industrial capacity to become a hub for food exports. Together with Green Iraq Company, we will work with local farmers over time to make our operations more sustainable, with the aim of building a supply chain that keeps more value inside the country and puts more Iraqi products on shelves across the region.\u201d<\/p>\n
The investment with BSDC outlines a shared ambition to work toward annual production capacity of more than 250 million cases, as part of efforts to reinforce Iraq\u2019s position as one of PepsiCo\u2019s most significant beverage manufacturing and bottling hubs in the Middle East. The expansion, as it progresses, is intended to support new jobs across manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and distribution, along with training and knowledge transfer for Iraqi engineers and technicians.<\/p>\n
Mohamed Shelbaya, CEO of Beverages, Middle East and Africa, PepsiCo, said: \u201cBaghdad Soft Drinks Company has been one of our most important manufacturing partners in the region for more than four decades. This new phase of partnership creates an opportunity to explore further growth together while reaffirming our long-term commitment to building here in Iraq.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both agreements were signed on behalf of BSDC and GICO by Tarek Al Hassan, majority stakeholder. He said: \u201cFor more than seven decades, we have grown alongside PepsiCo. Today\u2019s announcements reflect our ambition for the next phase of growth in our partnership with PepsiCo, hoping they will create new jobs for young people in Iraq. This is a partnership that keeps building, for us and for our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
PepsiCo has operated in Iraq since 1950, building some of the longest continuous partnerships in the country’s private sector. Over the years, PepsiCo has supported skills development and local communities, through initiatives such as the Tomooh Scholarship Program with Baghdad Business School, the PepsiCo Foundation\u2019s support for the Iraqi Children Foundation\u2019s Hope Buses, and most recently, Youth Impact Studio, which brought together young people to develop practical innovation and business skills.<\/p>\n
The latest agreements build on that legacy and reflect the parties’ shared ambition to support Iraq’s long-term industrial and agricultural development.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
About PepsiCo<\/p>\n
PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated nearly $94 billion in net revenue in 2025, driven by a complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew, and Quaker. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.<\/p>\n[\/mhc_text][\/mhc_column][\/mhc_row][\/mhc_section]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[mhc_section admin_label=”\u0642\u0633\u0645” fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off”][mhc_fullwidth_menu admin_label=”\u0642\u0627\u0626\u0645\u0629 \u0628\u0639\u0631\u0636 \u0643\u0627\u0645\u0644” menu_id=”56″ background_color=”#ffffff” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”center” submenu_direction=”downwards” fullwidth_menu=”off”] [\/mhc_fullwidth_menu][\/mhc_section][mhc_section admin_label=”section” transparent_background=”off” gradient_background=”off” background_color=”#ffffff” gradient_style=”horizontal” inner_shadow=”on” parallax=”off” parallax_method=”off” video_hide=”off” video_pause=”off” allow_advanced_padding=”on” remove_padding=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” column_paddings=”padding-0pct” column_match_heights=”off” background_leak=”off” background_leak_color=”#ffffff” background_leak_size=”25″ separator_top=”off” separator_bottom=”off” background_image_size=”cover” background_image_repeat=”no-repeat” background_image_position_x=”center” background_image_position_y=”center” animation=”off” animation_color=”#ffffff” mobile_2_pr_row=”off” mobile_reverse=”off”][mhc_row admin_label=”row”][mhc_column type=”1_3″][mhc_image admin_label=”\u0635\u0648\u0631\u0629” src=”https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/ainlogo.png” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” animation=”off” hoverfx=”scaleup” sticky=”off” image_mask=”off” border_radius=”0″ align=”center” force_center_on_mobile=”on” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":122248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coverage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122251,"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122250\/revisions\/122251"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/122248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.makkahalyoum.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}