We are waiting for bond payout confirmations. Things are moving - we just don’t know how quickly though…
I was always told once we hit 30-40% of those historic bonds we are roughly 3-5 days of us going. We do not know what percentage has been paid out yet.
We are very hopeful that all the payments that have been initiated happened this weekend...We are waiting to find out if bond holders have fully spendable money today. We are watching this today and tomorrow. There are definitely some people with NDA’s. They point blank told me they are on NDA’s and can give me no details.
Will Iraq have a 2025 budget? Finance Committee doubts it
Shafaq News/ Iraq’s Parliamentary Finance Committee does not expect the government to forward the detailed tables of the 2025 federal budget to the legislature, a lawmaker said on Sunday.
Committee member Jamal Kocher said parliament “could pass the 2025 tables if they arrive, but there is no seriousness in sending them,” adding, “In the meantime, the government will only pay salaries.”
He listed three hurdles: a lack of cash to implement new projects; failure to release all allocations for 2023 and 2024 because of the same liquidity crunch; and fear that approving fresh spending so close to parliamentary polls could funnel money into election campaigns.
Earlier, fellow committee member Uday Awad told Shafaq News that a 2025 budget may not be prepared due to the lack of real will to send it to Parliament.
The Prime Minister’s Economic Adviser, Mudhhir Mohammed Salih, argued work on the tables was delayed by amendments related to the costs of extracting and transporting the Kurdistan Region’s oil, which required recalculation.
The three-year budget law covering 2023-25 obliges the cabinet to update spending tables annually, but lawmakers now fear Iraq will enter 2025 without a voted fiscal plan.
Article: “The 25,000 denomination accounts for the largest share of banknotes in Iraq."
Quote: "Al-Obaidi Mentioned in a post on Facebook The number of banknotes issued by the Central Bank during January 2025 amounted to 6 billion banknotes, with a value of 100.3 trillion Iraqi dinars, an increase of 4.7% compared to January 2022, when the number of banknotes issued amounted to 5.7 billion banknotes, with a value of 78.2 trillion dinars.
Shafaq News/ Iraq’s Central Bank (CBI) reported a significant decline in government spending and a corresponding decrease in the volume of currency in circulation by the end of 2024.
In a report on monetary and financial indicators, CBI said government spending dropped by 5.54% in December, totaling 12.95T IQD (about $10B) compared to 13.71T IQD (about $10.5B) recorded in November.
The decline in spending was accompanied by a reduction in the currency issued, which fell by 0.34 trillion dinars to reach 100.54T IQD ($76.8B) in December, down from 101.34T IQD ($77.4B) in November.
Last February, German market and consumer data platform Statista forecasted that Iraq’s government spending as a percentage of GDP would decrease in the coming years.
According to Statista’s report, government spending in Iraq accounted for 48.43% of GDP in 2024, marking the highest share in the past five years. However, it is projected to fall to 47.94% in 2025 and further to 45.1% by 2029.
REAKING NEWS Iraq's Bold Request -Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein Meets U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, D.C.
In today's breaking update, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein meets with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington to discuss strengthening Iraq-US relations, improving Middle East security, and boosting economic cooperation.
A major highlight was Iraq’s push to reconsider the Level 4 travel advisory, which would allow easier travel to Iraq for investors and businesses.
This follows the successful U.S. Department of Commerce trade mission to Baghdad, where multi-billion-dollar deals were signed.
As Iraq’s security situation improves, the country is actively seeking to attract more foreign investment and expand its role in regional stability.
Stay tuned for the latest on Iraq news, foreign investment opportunities, and updates on U.S. diplomatic relations with Iraq.
Remember, Iraq's original currency was mostly reflected off of oil and rentier country. Not anymore.
That's going to mean they're going to need or will have a very strong powerful real effective exchange rate. It's obvious IMO
This is a time frame where Iraq is stabilizing their foreign reserves. They've increased their gold up to 163 tons of gold.
We have assurances from the likes of Saleh, Al Sudani etc that they have a strong stable economy, they have a strong stable country with security and stability. Hence all the investors are flocking in.
The Minister of Finance participates in the annual spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund
4/26/2025 Baghdad /
Minister of Finance Taif Sami Mohammed, Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq Ali Al-Alaq, and the accompanying delegation participated in the annual spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, held from April 20 to 23, 2025 in Washington, to discuss global economic challenges, economic development, financial stability and other related issues, in addition to plenary sessions, seminars and side consultations.
A statement by the Ministry of Finance said: "The Minister began her participation in the first meeting with the Executive Director of the World Bank, Abdulaziz Al-Mulla, and discussed the economic situation in Iraq and the role of the World Bank in supporting Iraq in its reform programs, especially in the issues of maximizing revenues, reducing expenditures, digitization, electronic systems, infrastructure projects, energy and the environment." She
also met with Hella Sheikh Rouho, Regional Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and her accompanying delegation, and discussed with her the most important obstacles to investment in Iraq and ways to address them, as well as the most important projects supervised by this institution in Iraq in the transportation, energy and international trade financing sectors. She explained that the institution can support projects of the Iraq Development Fund. The Deputy Chairman of the Foundation also emphasized the support of the private sector and its projects, as well as the agricultural and industrial sectors in Iraq.
The delegation, headed by her, held a high-level meeting with the World Bank Vice President for the Middle East, Othman Dawani. The meeting discussed the portfolio of projects funded by the World Bank, particularly the railway project in Iraq. It was agreed to review this portfolio to follow up on project implementation, identify work obstacles, and find solutions for their implementation and completion within the specified timeframe. The meeting also discussed the government's priorities for future projects, which the World Bank can support, with regard to renewable energy, waste management, and transportation projects, especially the metro, airports, and railways. The meeting also discussed the issue of human development in Iraq, which is a government priority, to be included in the World Bank's plans to allocate support and launch future projects in the education, health, employment, and social protection sectors.
The statement added: "The Minister, along with the Governor of the Central Bank, attended the ministerial meeting chaired by the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Gurevichi, and attended by the Ministers of Finance and Governors of the IMF member countries.
The discussions focused on the global economic situation, the increasing uncertainty and its economic impacts at the local and global levels, addressing challenges and measures to enhance resilience, identifying strategies to maintain the macroeconomy and manage debt sustainability, in addition to focusing on exchanging visions and experiences regarding economic reforms, enhancing the performance of government institutions, supporting and strengthening the private sector, and opening the way for them to be at the forefront of sustaining the economic resilience of the countries of the region.
The Iraqi delegation's agenda also included participation in the meeting held with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Dr. Mohamed Maait, during which the spotlight was placed on specific reforms to improve the performance of the financial sector in Iraq, and sharing updates between the two sides through activating areas of partnership with the Fund.
During the meetings, Finance Minister Taif Sami held a coordination meeting with the Head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission to Iraq, Jean-Jacques Killaume. The meeting addressed the prospects for Iraqi economic growth through the government's reform program aimed at strengthening the oil and non-oil sectors, and how to maintain economic stability in Iraq in light of the global economic conditions.
She also met with the Director of Technical and Financial Affairs and her technical team at the IMF, responsible for providing technical support and expertise to the Ministry of Finance. The meeting discussed steps to provide technical support to the General Tax Authority and the General Customs Authority regarding the electronic automation of their systems and reviewing amendments to their laws.
Sami expressed her readiness to provide technical support and training on these systems for customs and tax employees. The meeting also discussed completing the requirements for the single treasury account and reviewing the procedures implemented by the Ministry of Finance in relation to this program.
In a related context, the delegation held a meeting with Jihad Azour, Director of the IMF's Middle East and Asia Department, where they discussed a range of economic issues and the most prominent financial policy forecasts.
For his part, the Regional Representative stressed the Fund's commitment to supporting all financial, banking, and monetary reform programs adopted by the Iraqi government. LINK
Toyvp: Iraqi Drilling Company Completes 13 New Wells
26th April 2025 in By John Lee.
The Iraqi Drilling Company (IDC) has announced the successful drilling of 13 new oil wells and the rehabilitation of 53 others across various oilfields, covering the period from January to 21st April 2025.
According to IDC's Director General, Engineer Hassan Mohammed Hassan, the achievement reflects the technical and engineering capabilities of the company's workforce, which continues to deliver projects to the highest specifications and within scheduled timelines. The work was conducted in coordination with national extraction companies and international oil firms operating in Iraq.
He further noted that IDC remains Iraq's primary national arm in the field of oil well drilling and maintenance, supported by its accumulated expertise, a modern fleet of drilling rigs, and highly skilled personnel.
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Minister of Finance, Taif Sami, and the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) regional Vice President for the Middle East, Central Asia, Turkey, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, Hela Cheikhrouhou, discussed recently strategies to address the major challenges to investment in Iraq.
The two sides met on the sidelines of their participation in the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) taking place from April 21 to 26, according to a statement released by the Iraqi Finance Ministry.
Sami and Cheikhrouhou discussed the most significant initiatives in the energy and transportation sectors, as well as international trade finance that the IFC is overseeing in Iraq.
Additionally, Sami explained that the IFC can finance projects of the Iraq Development Fund, which aims to build sustainable economic and social development, develop Iraq’s non-oil economic resources, and address economic, social, and environmental crises.
Cheikhrouhou placed a strong emphasis on assisting Iraq’s industrial and agricultural sectors as well as its private sector and its initiatives.
