Q&A: Mohammed Sahib al-Daraji, Minister of Industry and Minerals

LONDON - As the leader of the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, Mohammed Sahib al-Daraji has overseen a large portion of Iraq's bloated public sector and witnessed the dysfunction at the heart of the government.

Part of the solution, he says, is privatization. Under his leadership, the ministry is working with international oil companies on two petrochemicals projects - part of a broader push to use public-private partnerships to ease the government out of industries where state companies are failing to turn a profit.