(Reuters) – Iraq has requested emergency assistance from the International Monetary Fund and talks are ongoing between the parties, the IMF said late Sunday.
Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi told Bloomberg News earlier that Iraq was in talks with the IMF for a $ 6 billion loan package.
“The Iraqi authorities have requested emergency assistance from the IMF under the Early Financing Instrument, and have also expressed their intention to seek a further settlement with the Fund in support of proposed economic reforms,” an IMF representative said. the email statement.
“Discussions are ongoing regarding the authorities’ request for emergency assistance. ”
Iraq could request an additional $ 4 billion in low-cost loans through another program linked to government reforms, Allawi said Sunday.
Iraq valued the dinar last month after a fall in global oil prices, Iraq’s main source of financial resources.
Allawi told Bloomberg bloom.bg/3peGG2h that Iraq was also planning other types of funding to help fill the budget gap. Once the spending plan was approved, the government moved to provide $ 5 billion in domestic bonds to expand its financial base.
The OPEC member economy has only a small manufacturing base and almost all goods are imported at the price of a dollar.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Edited by Stephen Coates and Peter Cooney