Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s three-year budget offers an essential opportunity to restructure the economy but is not a guarantee without strict implementation and oversight, the Prime Minister’s economic adviser Mudhir Mohammed Saleh affirmed on Wednesday.

Saleh told Shafaq News that if implemented on schedule, the budget could raise Iraq’s real growth rate to nearly 5% annually and create new jobs, particularly in provinces earmarked for major development projects. However, he cautioned that results will depend on the speed and efficiency of spending, as well as efforts to combat financial and administrative corruption.

Coordination between the federal government and the provinces is essential to ensure the benefits of the budget reach citizens within the framework of sustainable development and the National Development Plan 2024–2028, he noted.

According to Saleh, new tax measures, digital transformation in revenue collection, and revisions to subsidies in certain sectors have laid the foundations for genuine economic reform.