"QFS CONVERSATION " WITH GOLDILOCKS: "IRAQ IS NOT READY YET" , 20 JUNE

 GOLDILOCKS

"Almost two-thirds of countries in the Middle East and Central Asia are exploring adopting a central bank digital currency as a way to promote financial inclusion and improve the efficiency of cross-border payments.

Adopting a CBDC, however, requires careful consideration. Countries across these regions, spanning a diverse group of economies stretching from Morocco and Egypt to Pakistan and Kazakhstan, each must weigh their own unique set of circumstances.

Many of the 19 countries currently exploring a CBDC are at the research stage. Bahrain, Georgia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have moved to the more advanced “proof-of-concept” stage. Kazakhstan is the most advanced after two pilot programs for the digital tenge."

Per conversations Dee, Sam, and I have had with our CBI contact, Iraq will be using CBDC for Cross-Border Trading. 

© Goldilocks 

https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2024/06/18/central-bank-digital-currencies-can-boost-middle-easts-financial-inclusion-payment-efficiency

 Iraq is not ready yet.

Iraq to repatriate all its citizens from al-Hol refugee camp in Syria

BAGHDAD, June 18 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi government on Tuesday has decided to return all Iraqis from the al-Hol refugee camp in Syria, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported.

Karim al-Nouri, deputy minister of the Ministry of Migration and Displaced, told the INA that the "total number of refugees in the al-Hol camp is more than 50,000 people from different countries, including 20,000 people from Iraq."

He said that the Iraqi government had established a high-level committee to scrutinize the security situation of the refugees.

Al-Nuri also said that those returning from the al-Hol camp would go through community rehabilitation programs at the al-Jada'a camp in Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, stressing that about 3,000 people so far have returned to their homes in Iraq, according to INA.

The al-Hol camp is known to be housing refugees, with a significant number of them being family members of IS militants. ■

https://english.news.cn/20240619/d86acf30720a4650bb52397bda67bea1/c.html