Shafaq News / Member of the Parliamentary Economic Committee, MP Nada Shaker Jawdat, indicated that Iraq's rentier economy is behind its tendency to borrow.
Jawdat said in an interview with Shafaq News agency, "The government borrowed twice last year, and currently there is a request for loans in the 2021 budget", indicating that the main reason behind this is that Iraq's rentier economy relied on oil to finance its general budget.
"The drop in oil prices due to COVID-19 damaged the economic conditions in Iraq, and the current policies in Iraq have not supported other economic sectors such as agriculture and industry, which has made Iraq's markets open for importation. Therefore, the government resorts to borrowing because it does not have sufficient funds", she added.
Jawdat stressed, "activating the economic sectors is not easy and needs time", noting that "corruption and poor planning ravage Iraq's economy."
On Sunday, the International Monetary Fund said that Iraq had requested long-term emergency aid to support the planned economic reforms.
The Iraqi Finance Minister, Ali Allawi, had said in a press statement that Iraq was in talks to obtain a 6 billion dollars worth loan.
