By Ali Jawad
BAGHDAD (AA) – The Iraqi government received the first installment of a multi-billion dollar loan approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in May, an Iraqi official confirmed Wednesday.
“The Iraqi government received Tuesday the first $634 million installment,” Mazhar Mohammed Saleh, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s financial affairs advisor told Anadolu Agency, adding that three of the 13 payments will come during 2016 and total an estimated $2 billion.
“The first installment will be allocated to the areas of the relief of the displaced, education, health, and social care,” he said.
Last May, Iraq signed an agreement with the IMF for a $5.3 billion loan, at an interest rate of 1.5 percent, after meetings held in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
Iraq announced last year that it borrowed $1.9 billion from the World Bank during 2015 in order to cover “the expenses of reconstructing the liberated areas from [militant group] Daesh.”
Falling oil prices have contributed to an economic crisis Iraq has been facing which has forced the government to reduce its budget and introduce austerity measures.
