The Iraqi debt burden has become little

February 27, 2007

The efforts of creative Financial minds, the fine Iraqi diplomacy and the support of friends had a great role in reaching the Paris Club agreement to drop 80% of Iraq's debts to the (19) States of the Club, in addition to (56) States outside the Club.

To modernize the Iraqi Central Bank

February 27, 2006

An expert in the Iraqi Central Bank expected that positive effects, in the long perspective, will result from the monetary policy of the Bank in fighting inflation through raising the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar. The Director-General of the Statistics and Research Center in the Iraqi Central Bank, Madhar Muhammad Salih, said that the Bank seeks within its reforms to establish a modern and developed infrastructure for the central banking in Iraq through strengthening the payment systems that link the Central Bank to the banks working with automatic systems. He pointed out that this mechanism will enable the Central Bank to lend banks daily, when they are exposed to some of problems in the availability of liquidity, as well as reducing the risk of manipulation and fraud since this mechanism contains a high level of secrecy and confidentiality.

Iraq to join WTO, says U.S. source

February 26, 2007

Iraq's government has fulfilled all requirements and procedures to apply for the membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a USAID official in Baghdad said on Saturday.

Agreement to share oil wealth

February 25, 2007

Kurdish authorities have agreed to back a draft law to manage and share Iraq’s vast oil wealth, removing the last major obstacle to approving the measure and meeting a key U.S. benchmark in Iraq, a top Kurdish official said Saturday.

Iraq says ready to take over Basra after UK pullout

February 23, 2007

The Iraqi government said on Thursday it was ready to take over security in southern Iraq once Britain withdraws 1,600 troops in the coming months, but insisted that British forces would still be needed for support.

Iraqi Government to Increase Fuel Prices by 15%

February 23, 2007

Consumer fuel prices will be hiked by around 15 percent in March as Iraq implements an agreement with the International Monetary Fund to cut subsidies, Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani said.

Iraq has the world's third largest known oil reserves but decades of war, sanctions, under-investment and now widespread violence and sabotage have left it critically short of fuel. It has to import much of its gasoline.

Scramble for Iraq's oil begins as troops start to pull out

February 23, 2007

We are about to find out if the invasion of Iraq really was a war for oil. The country is on the verge of passing a petroleum law, which will set down rules for investing in its oil industry. That will set off a race among the foreign oil giants, scrambling for their slice of Iraq's vast oil riches. Britain's two world-leading oil companies, BP and Shell, both say they want to enter Iraq. Exxon, ConocoPhillips, Total, Russia's Lukoil and the Chinese will also form part of the rush.

Wolfowitz May Bring Bank Back to Iraq

February 22, 2007

Committed to IMF's instructions

February 22, 2007

Dr. Amirah Al-Baldawi, member of the Economic and investment Committee in the Parliament, prepared a study on the Iraqi budget for this year, presented the basis and principles on which it was based.

McPherson to lead financial repair of Iraq

February 21, 2007

MSU President M. Peter McPherson will join coalition efforts to restore the Iraqi government.

McPherson met with the Bush administration in Washington on Thursday to discuss the financial reconstruction of Iraq.