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- Monday,02-12-2024,AM 9:39
- Taisir Al-Asadi
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The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali Mohsen Al-Alaq, revealed the imminent launch of the "Riyada" Bank to support small and micro enterprises, while expressing his optimism about the country's monetary position despite the region's circumstances, stressing that it is "very excellent", and that the Central Bank is on its way to completing the digital transformation in parallel with its success in implementing the foreign transfers plan in line with international standards.
Al-Alaq said in a special interview with "Al-Sabah" on the sidelines of his participation in the activities of the Arab Sustainable Development Week (fifth edition) held in Cairo recently, that "the (Riyada) Bank will be contributed by Iraqi banks and supported by the Central Bank itself in order to diversify the production base, reduce unemployment levels, and provide basic pillars for sustainable development with the support of specialized international organizations."
The Green Bank
He added that "the Central Bank is adopting a financing initiative to purchase solar systems and license the (Green Bank) to be the first bank in the region to specialize in green financing and renewable energy projects as part of confronting the challenges of climate change," explaining that he announced this in a session on (the role of central banks in climate change) held in Cairo.
He pointed out that "the Central Bank adopts an unconventional monetary policy, which is not based solely on achieving monetary stability using its traditional tools - although this role has priority as a fundamental pillar in achieving economic stability and providing a stable and attractive environment for the business sector and local and foreign investment - as the changes and challenges facing the world and their effects on the national economy require a broader role and new tools to avoid risks and create appropriate and stable conditions, and among those challenges are climate change." He explained that "the Central Bank of Iraq agrees with the view that climate change has direct effects on the economy, as natural disasters, drought and famine cause a decline in economic growth rates, displacement, unemployment and poverty, which calls for central banks to play a role in confronting the resulting risks, in order to maintain acceptable levels of sustainable development."
Stability indicators
The Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq added that he presented during the Cairo session; A detailed explanation of the development process in Iraq during the wars and unjust policies towards Iraq's resources and infrastructure that led to serious declines in development indicators, and he pointed out that "with the decline of the last waves of terrorism in Iraq and the achievement of security stability, indicators of economic stability began to grow, and local and foreign investment began to take an upward path, and the Central Bank of Iraq achieved several basic factors in general stability by combating and controlling inflation, and maintaining high foreign reserves, as well as through its initiatives to stimulate economic sectors and provide a safe environment and freedom of movement for investments."
Al-Alaq explained that "countries' experiences have proven the pivotal role of small and medium enterprises, and therefore the Central Bank pays great attention to this issue," pointing to "the roles required and expected from central banks in the face of climate change challenges; including ensuring financial stability by assessing the risks associated with climate change that require monitoring and developing tools to measure them and conducting climate tolerance tests that simulate the impact of climate events on the economy and the financial sector, and encouraging green financing by including environmental, social and governance standards in lending and investment policies," explaining that "the Central Bank of Iraq is applying these standards in the banking sector with the support of the UNDP, as well as encouraging banks to finance environmentally friendly projects," noting that "monetary policies can be amended to take into account the long-term impact of climate, such as including climate-linked securities in open market operations."
Regarding his participation in the "Sustainable Development Conference" in Cairo, Al-Alaq said: "It is an annual event held by the League of Arab States in cooperation with international and local partners. The title of the current edition was (Sustainable Solutions for a Better Future). Among its activities was the launch of the first-of-its-kind High-Level Regional Forum on Investment and Sustainability. The forum aims to address the challenges and opportunities related to investment and sustainability in light of global economic trends, climate change and regional fragility. It also aims to create a dialogue platform between governments, investors, banks and development agencies to promote sustainable investment. We participated with a working paper in the conference."
Digital Transformation
Regarding the digital transformation that the Central Bank of Iraq intends to implement, Al-Alaq said: "There is a broad program, which has a major national dimension for us, which is digital transformation, which is one of the government's priorities in cooperation with the Central Bank. We are working together, with direct support from Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, to provide the requirements for this transformation, which constitutes a fundamental pillar of the digital economy in general."
The Governor of the Central Bank stressed that "the government is moving towards diversifying production to advance the banking sector and financial policy, and it is setting programs to achieve the goal and to be aware of international, regional and local circumstances - which are keys to dealing with and proposing programs and plans that are compatible and in harmony with all these circumstances - and there is diversification and strengthening of the national economy, so that the banking sector is active when there is a diverse production base." Al-Alaq acknowledged that "as a country, we suffer from the fact that the main economic activity is the oil sector, and in connection with the transformation of oil resources into the trade sector primarily instead of employing them locally to serve development goals and diversify the production base, and this calls for the necessity of activating the banking sector by providing the necessary financing to establish real projects in the basic economic sectors, especially in the industrial and agricultural sectors and other sectors," indicating that "this trend will lead to reducing dependence on oil resources, as well as providing means for real employment and growth."
Monetary stability
Regarding the impact of regional tensions on monetary stability, Al-Alaq said: “The monetary situation in Iraq is (very excellent) at the present time in terms of controlling inflation and the high adequacy of foreign reserves, which enables the Central Bank to remain stable, defend the exchange rate, and achieve monetary stability, despite the circumstances surrounding the country and the region,” indicating that “the reserve covers our needs, and this is what distinguishes the Central Bank of Iraq compared to other central banks in
the region. ”
At the end of his interview with “Al-Sabah,” Al-Alaq confirmed the Central Bank’s success in implementing the transition plan for “foreign transfers, in line with international practices and standards, and that they are currently being carried out smoothly and transparently - especially covering imports at the official exchange rate - which leads to general stability in prices. As for personal transfers and the use of cards outside Iraq, their system is being developed to ensure their fluidity, and an agreement has been reached with all relevant companies regarding new mechanisms to enhance the relevant accounts.”
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