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International Monetary Fund: We are preparing to lend to Iraq

The International Monetary Fund announced on Thursday that it is preparing a new lending program for Iraq, whose economy has been severely damaged by the repercussions of the war with Iran, after beginning talks with authorities in Baghdad.

“Our plan now is to engage with the authorities to better understand their priorities, how to address their vulnerabilities, and then move forward to determine the best ways we can support them through a financing program,” said IMF spokeswoman Julie Kozak during a press conference in Washington.

Kozak noted that Iraq was already suffering from severe financial constraints before the outbreak of the war, adding that the limited non-oil revenue base is putting pressure on the state’s finances.

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, revealed during the Fund’s annual meetings in Bangkok earlier this month that Iraq had requested a new support program.

During those meetings, Georgieva praised the resilience of global economic growth despite the wars in Iran and Ukraine, but warned that the effects of conflicts vary greatly, with the most fragile economies suffering severe damage.

Since the outbreak of war in the Middle East on February 28, 2016, with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, Tehran has almost completely restricted maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that ships must pass through it via a designated route and sometimes targeting those attempting to pass without its coordination. In response, Washington has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports.

The Iraqi economy is heavily dependent on energy exports, most of which pass through this strait.

Iraq was facing severe financial pressures even before the outbreak of war, and the International Monetary Fund predicted this month that its economy would shrink by 16% this year.

Iraq’s last program with the International Monetary Fund ended in 2019, and it entails interest payments to the international institution amounting to about $428 million until 2030.

Shafaq.com

The central bank denies printing new currency and announces that the exchange rate gap has narrowed to 9%.

Central Bank Governor Nizar Nasser Hussein confirmed on Thursday that talk of printing new currency is inaccurate, noting that the difference between the official exchange rate and the parallel market rate has decreased from 24% previously to 9% currently.

The media office of the House of Representatives stated in a statement that the Parliamentary Investment and Development Committee, headed by the oldest member, MP Nahida Al-Daini, conducted a visit to the Central Bank of Iraq to discuss the repercussions of the change in the dollar exchange rate and its impact on the economic and investment reality, and the challenges facing investors and local companies.

The statement added that during the visit, the committee was briefed on the measures taken by the Central Bank to support the Iraqi economy, including supporting government and private banks to provide soft loans to citizens ranging in value between 5 million and 15 million dinars.

The statement quoted the Central Bank Governor as confirming “that there is no printing of currency,” explaining that the talk circulating about printing banknotes is inaccurate. He also pointed out that the difference between the official exchange rate and the parallel market rate has decreased from 24% to 9%.

For its part, the parliamentary committee stressed the need to reduce the effects of the exchange rate on the costs of implementing investment projects, the prices of raw materials and contractual obligations, as well as its repercussions on market stability and the purchasing power of citizens, calling for well-thought-out solutions that balance the requirements of monetary stability and the protection of economic and investment activity.

The committee stressed the importance of strengthening coordination between the Central Bank, government agencies and the banking sector, removing obstacles facing investors and facilitating banking financing procedures, in order to ensure the continuity of investment projects and not burden investors and citizens with additional burdens.

She explained that the stability of monetary policy and the clarity of banking procedures are a fundamental pillar for creating an attractive investment environment, stressing the continued monitoring of priority economic files and the pursuit of practical recommendations that contribute to supporting investment, protecting citizens’ interests and strengthening the national economy.

Burathanews.com

Officially, the Iraqi parliament postpones its session, and the blocs are moving towards resolving the committees in a “single package”.

On Thursday, Ali Al-Azirjawi, a member of the State of Law Coalition, stated that the parliamentary blocs had requested the Iraqi Parliament’s leadership to postpone the session for two weeks in order to reach an understanding on the chairmanship of the parliamentary committees, stressing that there were political differences hindering their approval individually.

Al-Azirjawi told Shafaq News Agency that the heads of the blocs informed the Speaker of Parliament not to proceed with selecting the heads of some committees and to postpone other committees until further notice.

He added, “Currently, there is no agreement among the heads of the blocs to decide on the permanent parliamentary committees individually,” noting that “everyone wants the committees to be decided and voted on as a single package.”

Al-Azirjawi continued, saying that the parliamentary blocs informed the council presidency of the postponement of today’s session to the next two weeks until all parliamentary committees have finalized their decisions and voted on them as a whole in one package.

For its part, the media department of the House of Representatives announced in a brief statement the postponement of its session until further notice.

On Thursday, the parliamentary blocs in the Iraqi House of Representatives submitted the names of candidates for the chairmanship of 16 parliamentary committees, along with their deputies, while four other committees are still awaiting the finalization of their candidates. Iraqeconomic update

An official document obtained by Shafaq News Agency showed the distribution of the heads of the standing committees and their deputies for the sixth parliamentary session, where the candidates for the main committees, including Finance, Legal, Integrity and Oil, were decided, while the document showed the vacancies of the four remaining

This comes in conjunction with what a parliamentary source revealed earlier today, about a preliminary agreement on naming the heads of 15 parliamentary committees out of 20 permanent committees, while the leadership of five committees, including finance, oil and integrity, remains a point of contention between the political blocs.

The source told Shafaq News Agency that the Speaker of Parliament moved towards the political blocs and held more than one meeting to resolve the issue of the heads of the parliamentary committees, indicating that the understandings included reducing the number of standing committees to 20 committees, by merging some committees and creating another committee, adding that the committees whose leadership has not been agreed upon are Finance, Oil, Integrity, Security and Defense and Electricity.

On Wednesday, Firas Al-Muslawi, a member of the Reconstruction and Development Coalition, revealed that the House of Representatives session scheduled for Thursday would include voting on the distribution of committees among the parliamentary blocs, including the heads of some committees, their rapporteurs, and their deputy heads, predicting that the proposed names would be passed with a high percentage, pending the completion of understandings regarding the deputies of some of the heads.

The House of Representatives voted on February 17, 2026, to amend its internal regulations and establish 22 permanent parliamentary committees, including a unified committee for culture, media, tourism and antiquities. Then, on March 11, it voted on the members of 11 committees, while the completion of the distribution of leadership positions remained linked to understandings between the political blocs.

Shafaq.com

At a cost of 1.4 trillion dinars, the establishment of the “Basra Homeland City” residential project has been announced.

The National Investment Commission in Iraq announced on Wednesday evening that it had granted an investment license for the “Basra Homeland Residential City” project, with a total investment cost exceeding 1.4 trillion Iraqi dinars. Iraqeconomic update

The authority explained in a statement received by Shafaq News Agency that the project is located in Basra Governorate, and will be implemented in five consecutive phases by the same investing company, ensuring the highest standards of quality, modern urban planning and integrated services.

She affirmed the continuation of providing all necessary facilities and support for strategic investment projects that have a direct impact on the lives of citizens, especially residential complexes and cities that contribute to developing the infrastructure and supporting the wheel of economic development in the country.

She pointed out that granting this license comes within the framework of the Prime Minister’s initiative to provide one million serviced residential plots in all Iraqi governorates, which is consistent with the government program calling for the expansion of the establishment of modern and sustainable cities in the governorates.

This will be achieved, according to the statement, by creating new urban models that contribute to addressing the housing crisis, accommodating the increasing population growth, in addition to attracting national and foreign capital and providing thousands of job opportunities for young people and local technical and engineering personnel.

On October 10, Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi laid the foundation stone for the project of one million residential plots (Homeland Initiative) in the governorates of Karbala and Najaf.

The “Homeland Initiative” is a large-scale governmental and service program aimed at addressing the housing crisis and distributing one million residential plots of land throughout Iraq.

Official estimates indicate that between 3 and more than 9 million people live in informal settlements, while the Ministry of Planning confirms the existence of about 104,000 completely informal housing units housing between 500,000 and 600,000 people, revealing a housing gap that goes beyond traditional figures and puts the country before a complex developmental test.

The Prime Minister’s Media Office had previously confirmed to Shafaq News Agency that the residential land plots within the “Homeland” initiative would be completely free, and would include all Iraqi families whose members do not own a housing unit or property.

Shafaq.com

Al-Mandalawi and Zebari emphasize coordinating efforts to address outstanding issues between Baghdad and Erbil

Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, and member of the Political Bureau and head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s command center in Baghdad, Hoshyar Zebari, affirmed on Wednesday evening the coordination of efforts to address outstanding issues between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region.

This came during Al-Mandalawi’s reception of a delegation from the Kurdistan Democratic Party headed by Zebari in the capital, Baghdad, according to a statement from Al-Mandalawi’s media office received by Shafaq News Agency.

According to the statement, both sides stressed the importance of coordinating efforts among the various political parties to overcome the current challenges and find the necessary solutions for all outstanding issues between the federal government and the Kurdistan Region, in accordance with the approved constitutional frameworks, in a way that enhances political stability and serves the national interest.

In turn, the delegation congratulated Al-Mandalawi on assuming the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs, stressing the Kurdistan Region’s support for the government of Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi and its actions at the local, Arab and regional levels, which contribute to strengthening the country’s stability and enhancing its sovereignty and international standing.

Shafaq.com

Employees and retirees complain about the mechanism for granting loans from Al-Rafidain Bank and demand disclosure of the application criteria.

On Thursday, a number of employees and retirees expressed their dissatisfaction with the mechanism for granting financial loans through the electronic application approved by Al-Rafidain Bank, noting that the application witnesses a great surge as soon as the application is opened, before it stops receiving applications within five minutes or less, which limits the beneficiaries’ chances of completing the application procedures and obtaining the loan. ReadDaily News

Employees and retirees told Shafaq News Agency that the short application period and the limited number of applications that the application can accommodate raise questions about the criteria for providing loans and the mechanism for selecting beneficiaries.

They called for the adoption of clearer and fairer procedures that would ensure equal opportunities for employees and retirees.

In a related context, informed sources revealed suspicions regarding the exploitation by some parties outside the bank of citizens’ need for loans, by facilitating access to them in exchange for sums of money, as well as allegations of understandings between some bank employees and external parties to achieve financial benefits.

These claims still need to be verified by the relevant regulatory authorities.

The sources raised questions about the nature of the relationship between Rafidain Bank and those entities, particularly regarding the distribution of roles and responsibilities in receiving applications, the extent of the bank’s supervision of the application procedures and granting of loans, as well as the fees and commissions resulting from the related financial transactions.

She demanded clarification of the entity responsible for managing the application process and identifying beneficiaries, and an announcement of the criteria adopted in choosing between them, stressing the need to subject all procedures to auditing and oversight to prevent any illegal practices or exploitation of citizens’ need for loans.

Regarding the announced numbers of loans, the sources raised questions about the statements circulating about the possibility of granting about 100,000 loans, demanding clarification of the size of the available financial allocations and their funding sources, the timetable for distribution, and the entity responsible for auditing applications and following up on their implementation.

She stressed the importance of addressing the technical problems facing the application and expanding its capacity to accommodate requests, in order to ensure that no applicant is given an advantage over others, in addition to publishing details of fees and commissions, the mechanism for calculating them, and the entities benefiting from them.

An informed source told Shafaq News Agency on October 23 that Rafidain Bank had launched loans for employees and retirees in amounts of 5 million and 10 million dinars, with an annual interest rate of 6%, to be repaid over five years.

The source explained that applications for loans are available electronically through the “Super Key” application, as part of the move towards enhancing digital banking services and simplifying procedures for employees and retirees, enabling them to submit their applications without needing to visit bank branches.

Shafaq.com

Baghdad leads the way… 4.8 million fiber optic internet lines and 41.9 million mobile subscribers in Iraq

The total capacity of the Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network in Iraq recorded an increase during 2025, coinciding with the continued growth of communications and internet services, while the number of post offices maintained the same level as in the previous year.

According to the 2025 Communications and Postal Statistics Report issued by the Directorate of Transport and Communications Statistics, the total capacity of the optical access network reached 4.8574 million lines, compared to 3.4396 million lines in 2024, an increase of 41.2%.

The data showed that Baghdad Governorate recorded the highest telephone density for the fiber optic access network, at 21.2 per 100 people, followed by Kirkuk Governorate at 18.1%, then Maysan at 14.5%, while the telephone density for the network at the level of Iraq, excluding the Kurdistan Region, reached 12.3 per 100 people. Iraqeconomic update

In the telecommunications sector, the number of subscribers to mobile phone lines for companies operating in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, excluding Korek, reached 41.9 million subscribers during 2025, while the telephone density for these lines reached 90.8 per 100 people.

The number of subscribers to mobile internet service for companies operating in Iraq, excluding Korek, reached 24 million, while the number of actual subscribers to wireless telephone lines belonging to the General Company for Communications and Informatics (Al Nakheel Company) reached 526,000 subscribers.

In the postal sector, the number of post offices in Iraq reached 277 during the year 2025, which is the same number recorded in 2024.

The total number of international postal parcels reached 9,578 parcels, of which 7,274 were incoming parcels and 2,304 were outgoing parcels.

The number of depositors in savings funds in Iraq decreased to 72,000 depositors during 2025, compared to 81,000 depositors in 2024, a decrease of 11.1%.

Shafaq.com

The Central Bank denies issuing a list of political figures for vetting.

The Central Bank of Iraq denied on Thursday issuing an audit list for political figures, stating in a statement that “what has been circulated by some news sites and social media platforms regarding its request to audit the accounts of specific political figures is completely false.” Iraqeconomic update

He added that “what is being published in this regard does not reflect the nature of his work and his institutional procedures,” calling on “the media and users of social media platforms to be accurate and obtain information from official sources, and to avoid circulating unreliable news.”

He also stressed that “the oversight and auditing procedures he undertakes are within his usual institutional duties, and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and do not carry any political dimensions or motives.”

Burathanews.com

Al-Fariji: The revenue generated from the change in the exchange rate does not represent a profit.

Crisis expert Ali Al-Fariji confirmed that the revenue generated from the increase in the dollar exchange rate against the dinar does not represent a net gain added to the state treasury.

Al-Fariji told Al-Maalouma that “raising the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar in the local markets may provide quick liquidity, but it does not represent a financial reform in itself.”

He added that “real reform lies in building a multi-source revenue system, recovering funds and assets, reducing waste, and transforming the economy from dependence on oil and dollar pricing to financial management that measures results and creates real and sustainable revenues for the state.”

He explained that “the 19.2 trillion dinars expected to be generated from the dollar’s revaluation should be viewed as an approximate total book revenue, not a net gain added to the state treasury, because part of its impact may rebound on the state itself in the form of increased spending and import costs.”

Almaalomah.me