Parliament set to debate record-breaking federal budget for 2023-2025

Shafaq News/ Muhsen al-Mandalawi, the first deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, on Sunday announced that the forthcoming assembly meeting will hold the first reading of the draft law for the 2023-2025 federal budget.

This budget, approved by the Iraqi council of ministers on March 13, is set to be the largest in Iraq's history since 2003.

The budget encompasses an aggregate of over 197 trillion Iraqi dinars (approximately $135 billion), with an operational budget exceeding 150 trillion dinars and an investment budget of nearly 47 trillion dinars.

According to Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the estimated deficit stands at 63 trillion Iraqi dinars, while anticipated revenues amount to over 134 trillion dinars.

Oil revenues, based on a $70 per barrel price, are projected to reach 117 trillion dinars, with non-oil revenues amounting to 17 trillion dinars.

The last budget approved in Iraq dates back to April 2021, as political turbulence in the aftermath of the recent legislative elections left the country without a budget for 2022.