On the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai, the Director of the Middle East and Central Asia, Jihad Azour, told Rudaw’s Hawar Abdulrazaq that Iraq “does not suffer from a financial deficit.” He clarified that the only IMF support provided to Baghdad is “technical assistance.”
Azour explained that the IMF is helping the Iraqi finance ministry update public financial management and assisting the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI) in “improving its structure, monitoring the financial sector” and “increasing competitiveness in the Iraqi economy.”
Asked about the IMF’s plans to support struggling countries in the region, including Lebanon and Palestine, Azour confirmed that the organization has a strategy to “provide assistance to fragile countries facing crises, particularly those caused by conflicts.”
Azour highlighted that the IMF is currently conducting crucial research on “the effects of these conflicts” on the affected countries. He emphasized the importance of these studies to “improve their domestic situations after war,” and to “draw the attention of regional countries and the international community,” encouraging them to assist these nations in their economic recovery efforts.
