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Al-Handal stresses Iraq's commitment to combating money laundering.. What about inflation?
5/23/2024
Baghdad
The head of the Iraqi Private Banks Association, Wadih Al-Handal, confirmed today, Thursday, that Iraq is committed to combating money laundering, pointing to the role of the Central Bank of Iraq in reducing inflation to 3.8%.
Al-Handal said during a speech he delivered at the Arab-Turkish summit in Istanbul, followed by Al-Iqtisad News, that “Iraq’s policy is focused on economic openness to all countries, to build a network of strong economic relations, and to attract foreign investments in infrastructure development.”
He added, "Bilateral relations between Iraq and Turkey are going through their golden age. Trade exchange reached 20 billion dollars last year, and cooperation is great between Iraqi and Turkish companies in implementing strategic projects inside Iraq," noting that "the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month To Iraq, it will reflect positively on the Arab region, starting with the development road project.”
The head of the Association of Iraqi Private Banks stated, “The Iraqi Development Road Project is one of the projects that will transform the form of transporting goods between East Asian countries and Europe, because it will contribute to shortening the time on the ship departing from the port of Al-Faw to Europe by fifteen days compared to other transport lines.” As well as reducing the cost in terms of insurance and transportation fees, which will be reflected positively on the final price of the goods, in addition to the fact that the project will provide more than 100,000 direct job opportunities with the establishment of large factories inside the country.”
He pointed out, "The development road will link the countries of China, India, the Emirates, Qatar, Iraq, and Turkey, all the way to Britain, through rail and land lines to transport goods and people. It is the leading project in the region currently, as it will contribute to transporting fifteen million passengers annually and more than 22 million tons of food." Goods, and will cost seventeen billion dollars, with revenues for Iraq amounting to about 5 billion dollars annually.”
Al-Handal called on Arab and foreign banks to “contribute to financing investments while continuing to work on providing sovereign guarantees, in a way that contributes to accelerating work and achieving development for all.”
He stated, "The Central Bank of Iraq worked with its Turkish counterpart, during the previous stage, to adopt the Turkish lira and the euro to finance trade exchange between the two countries."
He stressed that "the private banking sector is progressing rapidly in growth, despite the great challenges surrounding it, and that some banks that faced difficulties in dealing in the dollar continue to work in other currencies, in implementing the aspirations of their customers, in addition to increasing the types of banking services, which... “It reflects positively on the sector’s work in increasing the rate of financial inclusion.”
He explained, "The monetary policy, led by the Central Bank of Iraq, during the current stage, has worked very successfully, contributing to reducing inflation from 7.5 percent to 3.8 percent," noting, "Iraq's foreign currency reserves have reached more than 111 billion." $, and gold 145.6 tons, which makes it ranked fifth in the Arab world.”
Al-Handal thanked the Union of Arab Banks, praising this two-day Arab-Turkish summit, wishing to come up with urgent decisions that contribute to changing the face of the region economically and give hope to our people, who are suffering from the effects of inflation, high prices, and the migration of foreign investors.
He concluded by saying: “Iraq is one of the countries committed to combating money laundering and terrorist financing, according to what was announced by the Financial Action Task Force for the Middle East and North Africa (MINFATF), which is an indicator that all countries rely on,” praising “the role of the Central Bank and the Iraqi judiciary in preserving To classify Iraq globally as one of the ..countries committed to combating money laundering and terrorist financing.