Iraq reaches deal for $5bn loan from IMF

Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari announced on Thursday that his country has reached a deal for a loan of $5.4 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Al-Khaleejonline.com reported.

Zebari said that this loan could give donors enough confidence to unlock further international aid over the upcoming three years.

The remarks were made in Jordan, where he and his team met IMF representatives for several days regarding the deal.

“Iraq agreed with the IMF to give a $15bn loan to Baghdad over three years, some of them including international bonds,” he said. “$5.4bn this year and the other amount over the next two years.”

He added: “This loan is conditioned by lessening the budget’s deficit in addition to other demands required by the IMF.”

Last year, Iraq announced it got a loan of $1.9bn from the IMF to cover the expenses of rebuilding the areas liberated from Daesh.

The Iraqi government raised import taxes in an attempt to increase its income, trying to solve its financial crisis resulting from the decrease of oil prices in the international markets.