Tishwash: IMF Discusses Strengthening Iraqi Dinar
Iraq’s delegation concluded its meetings with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Amman (February 24-26), with participants including Minister of Finance Taif Sami and the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI).
Discussions focused on Iraq’s economic performance and sustainable growth prospects, with the IMF acknowledging the progress made.
Key discussions included:
Non-oil GDP growth of 5% in 2024, driven by agriculture expansion and increased public spending, with 3.5% growth expected in 2025.
Reduced dependence on oil revenues, improving economic diversification and stability.
Review of actual 2024 expenditures and 2025 revenue forecasts, alongside strategies for deficit financing.
Public debt strategy update, ensuring fiscal sustainability and investor confidence in government bonds.
Financial sector reforms, with the IMF stressing the importance of banking modernization to attract foreign capital.
Expanded collaboration with international correspondent banks to facilitate trade financing.
Increased use of the Iraqi dinar in major transactions to strengthen the national currency.
The IMF reaffirmed its support for Iraq’s financial policy development, offering advisors and experts to assist the Ministry of Finance in public debt management and tax system improvements.
The meetings underscored Iraq’s commitment to fiscal reforms, promoting economic stability and investment-friendly policies, in line with its strategic partnership with the IMF. link
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Tishwash: It amounts to 216 trillion… A date has been set for submitting the budget tables to Parliament.
Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Ikhlas al-Dulaimi, ruled out the government’s submission of budget schedules within the next two months on Wednesday, while confirming that the 2025 budget amounts to 216 trillion Iraqi dinars.
Al-Dulaimi said, “The Ministry of Finance has not yet sent the 2025 budget tables to the Council of Ministers, even though they were supposed to be sent in October 2024, in accordance with the Financial Management Law, for approval before the start of the new year.”
She added, “The total budget amount is 216 trillion dinars, while actual spending is estimated at about 160 trillion dinars.”
Al-Dulaimi ruled out “sending the tables to the House of Representatives within the next two months,” noting that “the Ministry of Finance has not yet completed their preparation, which could lead to the postponement of budget approval until after the elections.”
Last February, the Iraqi Parliament voted on the draft law amending the first law of the Federal General Budget Law of the Republic of Iraq for the fiscal years (2023 – 2024 – 2025) No. (13) of 2023. link
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Tishwash: Kurdistan Region confirms oil sales through SOMO: We will give our money to Baghdad
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Wednesday affirmed the region’s firm position to implement an amendment to the budget law, allowing the region’s oil to be exported and sold through SOMO, with the proceeds returned to the federal Ministry of Finance.
A statement issued by the Kurdistan Regional Government’s Council of Ministers, seen by Al-Eqtisad News, said, “The President of the Council, Masrour Barzani, held a meeting attended by his deputy, Qubad Talabani, during which the Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Finance and Economy to prepare a schedule for distributing salaries to Kurdistan Region employees for the month of February, after the deposit of 958 billion dinars into the ministry’s account for that month.”
The Council decided to begin distributing salaries starting tomorrow. All ministries and institutions were also tasked with preparing March payrolls as soon as possible and sending them to the Federal Ministry of Finance, with the goal of disbursing them before the Eid al-Fitr holiday.
The statement confirmed that “in the first part of the meeting, Kamal Mohamed Saleh, Acting Minister of Natural Resources, reviewed the latest developments in the joint meetings between the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Federal Ministry of Oil, in the presence of representatives of oil companies.”
The minister explained the efforts being made to resume the region’s oil exports within the framework of the federal budget law. The Council of Ministers commended the Ministry of Natural Resources’ efforts to accelerate the process of resuming oil exports and its joint work with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to resolve the obstacles related to the process.
The Council also affirmed the “regional government’s firm position to implement the amendment to the budget law so that the region’s oil is exported and sold through SOMO and its revenues are returned to the federal Ministry of Finance.” link
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