IMF Staff Recommends Iraq Create a Sovereign Wealth Fund
Posted on 05/19/2022
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, led by Tokhir Mirzoev, visited to Amman, Jordan, during May 14-18, 2022, to discuss with the Iraqi authorities recent economic developments, the impact of global events on the economic outlook, and the country’s policy priorities. Part of the statement reads:
“In an environment of high oil prices and against the background of elevated global risks and uncertainty, the focus of macroeconomic policies needs to shift toward consolidating economic stability and strengthening Iraq’s long-term economic resilience. In the short run, maintaining fiscal discipline and tapering the central bank’s lending support to the real estate sector will help avoid adding to inflationary pressures. In addition, despite large reconstruction and other investment needs, limited near-term absorptive capacity, fiscal vulnerability to oil price volatility, and the challenges of the global energy transition call for building buffers for the future by saving a portion of oil revenues via a carefully designed sovereign wealth fund.”
IMF Link: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2022/05/19/pr22159-iraq-imf-staff-concludes-staff-visit-to-iraq
