Government Advisor: Cooperation between Fiscal and Monetary Policies Ensures Sustainable Economic Stability
The Prime Minister's Advisor for Financial Affairs, Mazhar Mohammed Salih, explained on Wednesday the mechanism for closing and financing the budget deficit. He noted that the state's general budget is based on an oil price of $70 to counter market fluctuations. He emphasized that cooperation between fiscal and monetary policies ensures sustainable economic stability.
Saleh told the Iraqi News Agency (INA): "Since the federal state budget was enacted under Law No. 13 of 2023, amended (the three-year budget for 2023, 2024, and 2025), it has been based on conservative oil prices to counter oil market fluctuations.
This includes adopting a price of $70 per barrel of crude oil, an export capacity of 3.4 million barrels of oil per day, and an annual spending ceiling of approximately 200 trillion dinars, with a planned deficit of approximately 64 trillion dinars."
He explained that "the planned deficit, if realized, turns into an actual deficit, financed (according to the degree of deficit) from domestic sources and a small number of committed external sources, depending on actual need, particularly for financing development projects."
He added that "the domestic sources of deficit financing are loans provided by the government banking system, often to finance the general budget when a deficit occurs, as a bridge loan. With the exception of the first quarter of fiscal year 2025, nothing has occurred that requires significant borrowing, except for less than 6% of the total planned annual balance to date."
He pointed out that "there is close and precise cooperation between fiscal and monetary policies, and they are proceeding closely together to build sustainable financial stability in our country to confront any shock of a sudden drop in global oil prices and its repercussions on financing the state's general budget."
He continued: "This is in order to maintain spending related to securing salaries, wages, pensions, social care, the basic services program, and support for farmers, all of which are constants in spending in the 2025 fiscal year, while proceeding with basic service projects (education, health, sewage networks, electricity, water, and roads)." link
