Iraqi Kurdistan economic growth expected to drop below 1% in 2015: ministry

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Iraqi Kurdistan economic growth expected to drop below 1% in 2015: ministry Posted on July 29, 2015by Editorial Staff in Economy, Finance & Banking

Zagros Fatah Siwaily, General Manager of the Projects Department in the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Planning. Photo: Fatah’s Linkedin

ERBIL-Hewler, Kurdistan region ‘Iraq’,— Iraq’s Kurdistan Region was known as the most stable region in the Middle East, enjoying economic growth and increasing standards of living from 2003 to 2013. But the region is now facing several security and economic challenges.

General Manager of the Projects Department in the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Planning, Zagros Fatah Siwaily, has pointed out that a Kurdish “spring” that started in 2003, had turned into a “harsh autumn” by the beginning of 2014, when the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was rocked by a combination of four intense events.

“Disputes with the Iraqi central government over oil and the budget, the conflict with Islamic State (IS), the influx of the refugees and displaced people escaping the jihadist group and the sharp drop in the price of oil on international markets have confronted the KRG over the last year,” Fatah said.

 

He said that even a developed, independent country would struggle to cope in the face of such crises all at once.

“We have received over 1.5 million refugees and internally displaced people (IDP) within just one year, while the EU is seriously concerned over the few thousands of refugees seeking asylum among several developed countries.”

Fatah revealed that due to the influx of the refugees and IDPs, the population of Kurdistan region has increased by 29%.

In terms of the region’s economic growth, he revealed that from 2011 to 2013, the rate of economic growth reached 8% while it dropped to less than 5% in 2014 “and we are predicting less than 1% for the current year.”

Fatah pointed out that they were expecting a drop in the rate of inflation due to the economic crisis, but the huge number of the refugees has placed increased demands on the market and caused inflation growth.

He estimated that the KRG can only survive the challenges with between $800 million to $1 billion each month, but warned that “a fundamental economic reform in the Kurdistan Region is necessary whatever happens.”

http://ekurd.net/kurdistan-economic-growth-expected-to-drop-2015-07-29