World Bank: Global Initiative to Recover Smuggled Iraqi Funds Economy

World Bank: Global Initiative to Recover Smuggled Iraqi Funds
Economy

 2021-02-01 01:41
  
Shafq News/ The World Bank has confirmed that changing the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar against the Us dollar gives the country the possibility to increase its revenues and counter imports from abroad.

He noted that his portfolio in Iraq currently stands at $2 billion, and he unveiled a global initiative the World Bank is working on to recover funds smuggled from countries.

Ramzi Noman, special representative of the World Bank mission in Iraq, said in an interview published by the Iraqi state news agency And seen by The Shafq News, "The partnership between the World Bank and Iraq is very close and based on years of joint work, pointing out that "Iraq has a very important position on the Arab and global level, and that The World Bank was on Iraq's side in the various stages of stability and peace, or in the stages of being attacked or changing economic conditions, which led to difficult repercussions for the Government and people of Iraq and began actual work with Iraq, I think in 2006 and 2007 through a series of projects."

"The World Bank's portfolio in Iraq is currently worth two billion dollars and these loans have been signed for about two or three years," he said, adding that "the main pillar is a loan for the reconstruction of the liberated areas, which came as a result of the first phase of liberation, i.e. the liberation of Salah al-Din province, and then this was completed with an additional amount after the liberation of the rest of the provinces."

"This current portfolio in Iraq includes projects under way, projects or loans due, and the World Bank is working on the projects associated with it," he said.

"The exchange rate change is aimed at giving the state the possibility to increase its revenues, especially since the sale of oil in hard currency and its transfer to the reality of the Iraqi dinar will allow it to actually increase revenues and reduce the deficit," he said, adding that "changing the exchange rate may allow imports from abroad to be met because gdp becomes cheaper than imported from neighbouring countries."

"The strategic objective of the exchange rate change is to strengthen the local product and industries so that they can face the external product, reinforced by measures to protect the product," he said.

"Price increases, the risk of inflation and the focus on projects that actually allow to cope with the social hardship of the poor," he said.

"The idea of raising the dollar rate is an international policy that has been shared by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and the Iraqi government, particularly the International Monetary Fund," he said. Its use to fill the deficit removes the possibility of investing in productive opportunities that allow the development of the private sector, while external borrowing has its components and conditions based on debt sustainability, subsequent repayment capabilities and financial and monetary stability, this financial engineering, which must be considered in an integrated manner, from which the devaluation of the currency can be considered."

"There is a global initiative being worked on by a Team from the World Bank in coordination with international organizations to recover funds smuggled from countries," he said, adding that the World Bank is ready to provide technical support.
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