The size of Iraq’s external debts was made public today, Wednesday, by Ali Al-Alaq, governor of the Central Bank. He also said that Iraq has cash reserves that are estimated to be over 100 billion dollars.
Al-Alaq stated in a speech on the second day of the “Miri” Forum in Erbil, which was followed by the /dinaropinions.com, that “the Central Bank represents a fundamental pillar of the economic and financial pillars in the country” and that “the role of the Central Bank cannot be reduced by looking at the currency selling window only.”
He went on to say that “foreign currency reserves exceed 140 percent of the issued currency” and that “Iraq started in 2003 with zero mandates.”
He went on to say: “The Central Bank is establishing a company that will organize electronic payment, using the best technologies and methods, and it has reached advanced stages,” indicating that “we have licensed 16 companies for electronic payment, and the Central Bank is working on licensing digital banks.”
Al-Alaq mentioned: According to the report, “the large deficit in the budget comes from the overall increase, which is offset by growth in revenues, especially local ones,” and “about 40% of the banks in the world seek to directly stimulate the economy in Iraq.”
He went on to say that “the external debt is less than 20 billion dollars” and that “Iraq still depends almost entirely on oil revenues and that the level of cash liquidity during the year has not witnessed any increase.”
