Iraq to hold meeting with IMF, World Bank in Baghdad: Minister

A senior Iraqi delegation headed by Allawi recently visited Washington DC to participate in the week-long Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank.
Iraqi Minister of Finance Ali Allawi speaks during an interview, June 22, 2020. (Photo: Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP)
Iraqi Minister of Finance Ali Allawi speaks during an interview, June 22, 2020. (Photo: Ahmad al-Rubaye/AFP)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Representatives from the World Bank and the International Monterey Fund (IMF) will visit Baghdad to hold meetings, Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi announced. 

A senior Iraqi delegation headed by Allawi recently visited Washington DC to participate in the week-long Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

The delegation reached "several agreements" for supporting Iraq's economic reform process, known as the White Paper, Allawi told the state broadcaster Al Iraqiya on Sunday. 

The IMF and World Bank will hold meetings with Iraqi officials in Baghdad after the end of Eid Al-Fitr to discuss "technical support" for the reform project, the minister said. The three-day feast will follow the end of the holy month of Ramadan on May 3 this year. 

Allawi added that his ministry has had "good results" with the Bank in addressing the technicalities needed to reform the economic system. 

For the first time since 1972, Iraq recorded the highest monthly revenue of more than $11 billion, mainly generated from oil sales following huge demand for the commodity due to the Russia-Ukraine war and post-COVID-19 recovery. 

Iraq is in a "very good" financial situation and does not need any foreign support, except for certain projects, according to Allawi.

Iraq's real GDP is estimated to have increased by 1.3 percent in 2021 compared to its sharp contraction of 11.3 percent in 2020, according to a recent World Bank report.