Iraqi minister to explain state of economy in parliament

By Kardo Kemal

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari appears before the parliament in Baghdad on Sunday to explain the state of the Iraqi economy, which has been hard hit by falling oil prices and the ongoing war with the Islamic State (ISIS).

“The assembly has invited Mr. Zebari to discuss how we can exit the current economic crises that will inevitably impact next year’s revenues and expenses,” said Haisham Jaboori, an MP addressing reporters in Baghdad before the session.   

Jaboori said a range of “unprecedented economic actions” will be taken to cope with the increasing security challenges Iraq will face in the coming year, as the war with Islamic militants will likely add to Baghdad’s mounting financial concerns.

“We are considering legal ways for instance to tax mobile phone sales and even cut down on government’s other expenses,” Jaboori said.

Iraq’s finance minister is scheduled to travel to neighboring Kuwait in the coming days for talks on postponing the $4.6 billion installment Baghdad pays in reparation for Saddam Hussein’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Iraq has in the last two decades paid more than $47 billion of a 52.4 billion reparation bill to Kuwait for the occupation and destroying oil infrastructure in the country, according to the United Nations Compensation Committee (UNCC).

Iraq’s budget is estimated to drop from 174 trillion Iraqi dinars (about $145 billion) in 2014, to 120 trillion Iraqi dinars (about $100 billion) in 2015 due to falling oil prices.