The World Bank announces important details in its report on Iraq

Time: 05/27/2021 21:15:10
 
{Economic: Al Furat News} A senior expert at the World Bank, Wael Mansour, revealed, on Thursday, important details in his report on Iraq.

Mansour said in a televised interview, “Negative growth of the national product reached 10%, which is one of the worst growth that we see after 2003, and we attribute it to the drop in the oil price, the OPEC Plus agreement, which reduced oil production, and the Corona pandemic that hits many sectors, including services, religious tourism, and others.” .

He pointed out, "a sharp decline in financial resources, and the government has taken harsh measures, including the reduction of all spending outside wages and salaries, and we have seen a sharp decline in public investment and social benefits and all programs that can support growth and reduce poverty and a sharp decrease in it."

Mansour stressed, "The World Bank is very interested in the factor of growth and sustainable growth, the need for diversification and job creation outside the oil sector, and a basic necessity for women's participation in the labor market, given that Iraq is among the lowest in the world in this aspect."

And he indicated that "if Iraq is able to achieve policies and involve women in the labor market 2.

2.5 billion dollars as a result of burning gas associated with the extraction of oil and losses in agriculture and water.”

Mansour continued, “The solutions to Iraq’s problems have become a large structure that accumulates from one government to another, and the solutions are not easy and not immediate, and we are talking about problems in the public sector, electricity and infrastructure, and a very small banking sector that does not exist. And it is not supportive of the public sectors.” And he 

noted, “We are aware of the importance of the current government’s white paper, which diagnoses with such accuracy and danger, and rings an alarm bell for the Iraqi economic situation and says that the solution is not immediate, and there must be short-term measures, and all reforms require a pause and a political decision in the first place.”

Mansour concluded, “Not diving into these reforms means recurring problems from one government to another with the low exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar,” adding, “We do not set conditions on Iraq, but rather offer advice to increase imports, and with the improvement of the oil price, it is a good look, but it hides 3 risks.” The first is the political and security risk that overthrows all economic recovery and the risk of fluctuations in the oil price and may drop to 50 or 40 dollars per barrel. The other danger is the absence of reform and the failure to implement the white paper, which means a loss of 11 billion dollars for Iraq.

The expert at the World Bank stressed that "reforms affect salaries, electricity, social protection networks and other government-supported aspects," noting that "the e-government puts Iraq in the back ranks in terms of corruption and management efficiency."

Wafaa Al-Fatlawy

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