Shafaq News / A knowledgeable governmental source revealed on Sunday that Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani directed the formation of a joint Iraqi-Turkish economic committee encompassing various governmental entities and private sector representatives from both countries.

The source, speaking to Shafaq News Agency, emphasized, "al-Sudani's directives come in light of the positive developments witnessed in the US dollar exchange market for the sake of economic stability."

It was further detailed that the directive includes "establishing an Iraqi-Turkish joint committee representing market forces, Iraqi and Turkish economic organizations. From the Iraqi side, it involves the Iraqi Private Banks League, the Iraqi-Turkish Business Council, the Iraqi Chambers of Commerce Federation, and the Iraqi Contractors Union, with their counterparts from the Turkish side."

The source added that "the committee will convene semi-annually and submit its reports to the Prime Minister, aiming to serve the strategic partnership between the neighboring countries."

Additionally, the directive encompasses "initiating direct dialogue on the subject of the 'reciprocal deal' by negotiating directly with the Turkish Exporters' Assembly and the Turkish Central Bank in coordination with the Iraqi Central Bank due to the high desire of the Turkish side to pay in the local currency."

Closing the statement, the source noted that this initiative also aims "to finance a portion of the four supportive baskets (food, pharmaceuticals, construction, spare parts) proposed in the Prime Minister's policy to defend price stability in Iraq."

The US dollar exchange rates against the Iraqi dinar witnessed a gradual decline since the beginning of the current month, dropping from nearly 170,000 Iraqi dinars per 100 dollars last month to 150,000 dinars per 100 dollars on the Sunday of the current week.

In this context, the Iraqi government perceives the decrease in the dollar price as a result of several factors, including "Iraq's high reserves of foreign currency."

Muthanna Mohammed Saleh, the financial and economic advisor to the Prime Minister, explained to Shafaq News Agency that "one of the reasons for the decrease in the exchange rate of the dollar in the parallel market is Iraq's high reserves of foreign currency and good management of foreign trade financing during the past period."

Saleh highlighted, "the parallel market is gradually approaching the official central market due to the regularity of private sector foreign trade through the compliance platform and the significant flexibility exhibited by banks in dealing with this platform to secure transactions."