The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, discussed today, Sunday, with the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, the need for Iraq to develop a technical program with the fund.
The Bank said in a statement, “The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, met on the sidelines of the fund’s annual meetings in Washington, Kristalina Gorgifar, head of the International Monetary Fund.”
It added, “Al-Alaq discussed Iraq’s need to develop a technical program with the fund that takes into account the country’s security and economic conditions, especially the exceptional challenges that cost it dearly at various levels.”
For her part, Kristalina expressed “understanding of the situation in Iraq and the circumstances it went through, and supported the Governor’s proposal of the need for a program with the fund to serve as a proven reference for economic policies between the two parties.
The statement added, “The Governor met later with the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, Mahmoud Mohieldin, and the two sides discussed issues of financial stability in Iraq.”
Mohieddin, according to the statement, expressed “the Fund’s interest in providing the necessary support to Iraq in issues of economic reform in order to achieve a gradual increase in its non-oil imports.”
The statement continued, “The two parties discussed the necessity of signing an agreement between Iraq and the Fund, whose framework and content will be determined during the visit of the International Monetary Fund team delegation to Baghdad.”
It added, “The visit, which is scheduled to take place next month, aims to organize the steps of economic reform and financial performance programs, and the aspects in which Iraq requests technical and advisory support.”
It indicated that “the fund’s experts stressed to the Iraqi delegation the importance of Iraq embarking on economic reforms in times of financial abundance, as oil revenues provide the possibility of support and flexibility for this program, especially those related to supporting the poorest segments and building financial buffers to counter fluctuations in global oil prices.”
Source: National Iraqi News Agency
