Baghdad – IA
Today, Sunday, experts from the International Monetary Fund mission praised the measures taken by the Central Bank of Iraq, noting that they contributed to maintaining the stability of the Iraqi economy and working to raise its capabilities.
The mission said in the final statement on the sidelines of the meetings held in the Jordanian capital, Amman, and received by the (INA): “Growth has returned in the non-oil sector strongly in the year 2023, with inflation receding and growth in the real non-oil gross domestic product is estimated at 20%.” 6 percent in 2023, after declining in 2022. Overall inflation has declined from the high level it reached at 7.5 percent at the beginning of 2023, to 4 percent by the end of the same year, thus reflecting the decline in food and energy prices at the international level.
The mission attributed the occurrence of these developments to “the return of trade financing operations to their normal course and the stability of the foreign exchange market. After some interruptions occurred following the implementation of new controls to combat money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism on cross-border payments in November 2022, improved compliance with the new system and initiatives led to The Central Bank of Iraq to reduce the transaction processing time will lead to a recovery in trade financing in the second half of 2023. This will ensure that the private sector can obtain foreign currency at official rates for import and travel purposes.
The mission welcomed the “initial steps taken towards establishing the unified treasury account”TSA), which is considered a crucial tool for improving cash liquidity management.”
She praised “the efforts made by the Central Bank of Iraq aimed at getting rid of surplus liquidity. The Central Bank increased the interest rate on monetary policy tools and raised mandatory reserve requirements. It also began issuing treasury bills with a maturity of 14 days last summer,” calling for “support… Existing efforts by the Central Bank through consolidating unused government deposits in the unified treasury account, refraining from pro-cyclical financial policy, reducing reliance on monetary financing, and improving public debt management, noting the continuation of efforts aimed at establishing an interbank market with the support of Technical assistance provided by the International Monetary Fund.
The mission welcomed “the steps taken by the authorities to accelerate the pace of digitization of the economy, reduce dependence on cash and enhance financial inclusion.”