Guest views are now limited to 12 pages. If you get an "Error" message, just sign in! If you need to create an account, click here.

Jump to content
  • CRYPTO REWARDS!

    Full endorsement on this opportunity - but it's limited, so get in while you can!

As security improves, Iraq banks seek a rebound.


yota691
 Share

Recommended Posts

Risky economic recovery on the agenda of IMF meetings

 

Posted by Reuters  Date: 11:13 AM, October 13 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank on Thursday launched autumn meetings, which are centered around optimism about the recovery of the global economy, which is overshadowed by looming risks.

 

"After years of disappointing growth, the world economy is accelerating," World Bank President Jim Young Kim told a news conference.

 

At the same time, he expressed concern about "increased protectionist risks, political uncertainties or possible large fluctuations in financial markets that could affect the fragile recovery."

 

The meetings coincide with the resumption of talks on the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in Arlington, near Washington, in a climate of intense tension between the signatories - the United States, Canada and Mexico.

 

After stressing that he wants to "protect" American workers, President Donald Trump has repeated his threats to withdraw from a deal he sees as devastating to jobs and responsible for Mexico's massive trade deficit (more than $ 64 billion).

 

The International Monetary Fund has released more optimistic estimates of global growth. After an increase of 3.2% in 2016, world GDP is expected to increase by 3.6% this year and 3.7% next year, a slight improvement of 0.1 points compared with previous estimates issued in July.

 

"It is not the time to try to please others," Fund Director Christine Lagarde told a news conference on Thursday. "It is time to make political decisions that will allow more people and countries to benefit from this recovery," she said.

 

Repair ceiling

 

Lagarde quoted a phrase used by former US President John F. Kennedy to call for "ceiling repair" while the economy is in a better position to reduce inequality among people.

 

"Many see their aspirations limited by the impact of technological changes and the excessive effects of income inequality," she said, adding that this raises doubts about the benefits of globalization.

 

Asked about the possible impact of the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Lagarde stressed the need to renegotiate a nearly-quarter-century-long treaty that was signed before the use of mobile phones.

 

"Trade agreements must take into account change to adapt and continue to facilitate and expand trade," she said.

 

Without mentioning the United States, Lagarde on Wednesday called on states not to surrender to the temptation of protectionism and introversion.

 

Canadian Finance Minister William Morneau said Canada and the United States had long-standing trade ties. "Nine million jobs are dependent on NAFTA," he said.

 

A number of economists said that despite Trump's criticism, the three countries benefited from the free trade agreement. They believe that a US withdrawal from the treaty will have serious implications for the US economy.

 

Mourinho has played down the importance of the president's statements, stressing that these negotiations could fail. Threats were normal in such consultations.

 

For his part, French Finance Minister Bruno Lemerre stressed that "trade agreements must be based on fair rules."

 

Apart from protectionism, the IMF is concerned about the growing indebtedness of emerging countries and some of the G-20 countries, which could affect recovery.

 

IMF Administrator Tobias Adrian warned on Wednesday that the impact of debt benefits, which have risen in a number of major economies, is "one of the biggest risks if debt interest rises significantly."

 

Even before its annual meeting began, the IMF called on G-20 countries to resolve both external and internal imbalances, ie, trade and indebtedness, to avoid division or jeopardize growth that has been resumed.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim2017 Annual MeetingsWashington, DC, United States

As Prepared for Delivery


 

Chairman Fakhoury, Madame Lagarde, Governors, my dear friends Jim and Elaine Wolfensohn, Ministers, Friends,

It’s an honor to address you, five years after I first stood before you in Tokyo.

Each year, we gather for these Annual Meetings to address the most critical challenges that affect the lives of billions around the world. And each year, we chart the course of our collective efforts to make development work for everyone, to ensure a dignified life for all.

This is a critical time for the work of the World Bank Group. The good news is that global growth is robust – 2.7 percent this year. The second quarter of last year saw the highest quarterly growth rates since 2010.

Trade is picking up. But investment remains weak, and we’re concerned that downside risks such as a rise in protectionism, policy uncertainty, or possible financial market turbulence could derail this fragile recovery. That’s why now is the time for all countries to take action on the needed reforms to grow their economies and compete in what will surely be a more complex, demanding, and digitized future.

We’re also meeting again at a time when multiple crises are in full swing, or looming:

·         Conflict, pandemics, climate change, and famine are impacting people all over the world, and they are contributing to an historic number of people being forcibly displaced;

·         Countries in nearly every region are turning inward;

·         International and home-grown terrorism affects every corner of the world.

It often feels like our increasingly interconnected world is in fact falling apart and countries and peoples are pulling away from each other. Amidst this turbulence, organizations like the World Bank Group must step forward and help to build new foundations for human solidarity. We are part of the post-1945 world order that was predicated on the notion that what affects one city, one country, one region can have immediate and lasting impacts on us all. These new foundations for human solidarity must move us from the old construct of donors and recipients into a new development compact between stakeholders.

In 2013, we announced our goals to end extreme poverty by 2030, and boost shared prosperity among the poorest 40 percent around the world. And a year ago, I explained the three ways we will get there: by accelerating inclusive, sustainable economic growth; by building resilience to shocks and threats; and by investing more – and more effectively – in people.

For us, this is an especially important time for tackling global poverty, because we have more room to take bold action to grow the economy, protect countries from major overlapping crises, and invest in people.

Before giving you examples of our progress on all of these fronts, I want to thank the dedicated staff of the World Bank Group, who work tirelessly to reach our ambitious goals. And I’d like to applaud our clients and shareholders, who have made tremendous efforts under adversity to achieve their highest aspirations.

The first pillar of our strategy to end poverty and boost shared prosperity is to accelerate inclusive, sustainable economic growth.

We know that official development assistance will not be enough to meet the 4 trillion dollars per year needed to achieve the sustainable development goals, and meet the world’s rising aspirations.

Last April, ahead of the Spring Meetings, I called for a new approach where we maximize finance for development by systematically crowding in private sector investment and making it work for developing countries and poor people. We developed the Joint Principles for Crowding in Private Sector Finance, and the G20 endorsed those principles last summer. This is a great example of close collaboration between management and the Board, to launch a fundamental shift in our approach to development finance.

Maximizing Finance for Development isn’t based on ideology, nor is it a panacea for all development challenges. It’s an evidence-based approach where we ask a very straightforward question: How can we maximize the resources that developing countries have to do the things they need to do for their people, while minimizing the burden of public debt?  

Maximizing Finance for Development means finding win-win solutions, where investors get a good return, and countries utilize these resources to meet their development goals. We’re putting this approach to work with teams from across the World Bank Group, and we’ve already seen great results.

Three years ago in Egypt, subsidies for energy reached 6.6 percent of GDP – more than the government spent on health, education, and social protection combined. When Egypt wanted to reform its energy sector, the World Bank Group designed a comprehensive package:

·         IBRD contributed technical assistance and analytical experts, and a 3 billion dollar loan over 3 years for policy reforms;

·         IFC lent 645 million dollars to the private sector;

·         And with 210 million dollars of risk insurance from MIGA, the joint efforts of IFC and MIGA mobilized 2 billion dollars in private investment in Egypt’s Photovoltaic Solar Feed-in Tariff program.

The policy reforms, initial private investment, and risk insurance helped attract 15 banks and 20 different investors for a large Photovoltaic Solar Park Project, and many of these investors will contribute to future projects. The effort helped attract more than 15 billion dollars of private investment in Egypt’s gas sector.

As a result of their efforts to reduce fossil fuel subsidies and other reforms, the Egyptian government has increased their fiscal space by around 14 billion dollars a year. This has allowed the government to roll out two new cash transfer programs that reach 1.7 million poor Egyptians; food subsidies for the poorest have increased by 300 percent; and the government expanded its school lunch program.

We’ve learned some valuable lessons from this effort in Egypt, most importantly, that we could be more proactive in creating markets – and not just simply wait for them to appear on their own. And we’ve shown that it can work to finance sectors other than infrastructure, such as helping transform the health sector in Turkey.

In 2002, the infant mortality rate in Turkey was far higher than other OECD countries, and the life expectancy was years lower. So the government started an ambitious overhaul of the entire health system, which included advice and loans from IBRD.

Turkey launched a public-private partnership in 2010; IBRD provided a 134 million dollar loan and technical support; IFC invested 241 million dollars, mobilizing an additional 540 million dollars in private investment; and MIGA provided political risk guarantees.

One of the flagship projects was the Elazig Integrated Health Campus – a 400 million euro, thousand-bed hospital that was financed by the first project bond issuance under the Turkish PPP program. MIGA and the EBRD worked with Rönesans Holding – a Turkish construction group, and Meridiam – a French infrastructure investor to develop an innovative credit-enhancement application that enabled the project to be financed in the bond market. They secured a Moody’s investment grade rating two notches above Turkish sovereign bonds.

These investments were relatively small, but very important parts of a large program that transformed Turkey’s health sector, considerably increasing access and improving public health. In 2002, less than two-thirds of Turkey’s population had health insurance, and just over half had regular access to health care. The Health Transformation Program has led to nearly universal access – 98 percent of people in Turkey are covered by affordable health insurance.

The program has also led to dramatic improvements in health across Turkey. Infant mortality rates were cut in half, life expectancy increased from 71 to 74 years, and the mortality of children under 5 fell 55 percent.

These are just two examples of many that we are now scaling and spreading around the world. There’s never been a better time to crowd in private sector investment. Right now, there’s more than 10 trillion dollars invested in negative interest rate bonds; 24 trillion dollars in low-yield government securities; and 5 trillion dollars sitting in cash, waiting for better investment with higher returns.

Last year at Davos, President Xi Jinping of China said that the global market system is the ocean we all swim in and cannot escape from. He said, “Any attempt to…channel the waters in the ocean back into isolated lakes and creeks is simply not possible.” Maximizing Finance for Development is our best chance to make the global market system work for everyone.

We need to embrace the notion that our greatest moral responsibility is to create equality of opportunity. The Maximizing Finance for Development approach gives countries the resources to build bridges, solar parks, and hospitals. It frees up funds for schools, job training, and social safety nets, and creates win-win solutions that can grow economies and give everyone opportunity – for a good education, for a stable job, for a chance to achieve their highest aspirations.

The second pillar of our strategy is to build resilience to overlapping shocks and crises, and one of the most critical is climate change.

When it comes to climate change, we’re running out of time – 2016 was once again the hottest year since record keeping began. The last three years each broke the previous record. Worldwide, more extreme natural disasters force 26 million people into poverty every year.

We have to reduce our carbon footprint and help countries adapt to natural disasters, like the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean and devastating floods in South Asia.

Last year, the World Bank Group loaned 12.8 billion dollars for climate investments, 22 percent of our portfolio. We’re now the largest funder of climate-related investments in the developing world, and we’re on track to meet our goal of having 28 percent of our portfolio deliver climate benefits by 2020.

We’re also using our convening power to scale up climate action by bringing the public and private sectors together. There’s 23 trillion dollars of potential investments just in the Paris commitments of 21 emerging economies – including green buildings, sustainable transport, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

We need climate investments in the trillions, not billions of dollars. Around 90 trillion dollars will be invested in infrastructure over the next 15 years, just to replace aging infrastructure in advanced economies and meet expected growth in emerging economies. Right now, infrastructure investment tops out at around 3.4 trillion dollars annually, but the need is more like 6 trillion dollars a year. And all of this must be climate-smart, low-carbon, resilient infrastructure.

With the UN and France, we’re co-hosting the Paris Climate Summit on December 12, to connect investors with climate-smart investment opportunities.

Along with climate change, we have to do more to help refugees – and to help the countries and people who are providing the world with a global public good by hosting them.

A year ago, in the midst of the refugee crisis, we established a special fund that has provided 200 million dollars in grants and unlocked more than 1 billion dollars in concessional financing for Jordan and Lebanon. Lebanon, which is hosting more than 1.5 million displaced Syrians, has the highest per-capita ratio of refugees in the world. And Jordan, as the Chairman said, hosts more refugees than any country in the world. In both countries, 81 percent of Syrian refugees are under age 35, and 70 percent are poor.

This instrument, now known as the Global Concessional Financing Facility, is making a significant impact. In Jordan, the GCFF has helped provide 50,000 formal working permits to Syrian refugees. In Lebanon, this fund is financing roads and employment programs, creating more than a million days’ worth of labor in direct and indirect jobs. It is also getting kids out of the streets and into schools, to provide education and to prevent the tragedy of a lost generation.

This year, we also took a large step to break the cycle of panic and neglect around pandemics. Too often, we neglect infectious disease outbreaks until they become a global threat – and then we quickly forget about them after the threat subsides. With the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility, for the first time, we have actual pandemic insurance – a 450 million dollar policy that will automatically disburse funds to the poorest countries when an epidemic reaches a critical stage.  

This is the first time that pandemic risk in low-income countries is being shared with the financial markets. Why can’t we do the same thing for famine, or other humanitarian crises? I believe we can, and we’re working on it right now.  

The third pillar of our strategy is to invest more – and more effectively – in people.

For most of my adult life, I worked to provide care to people suffering from terrible diseases in some of the poorest parts of the world. And for most of my adult life, my colleagues and I have been advocating for more investments in people.

Usually we made a moral argument – that everyone deserves a chance to reach their highest aspirations. Providing health, education, and social protection is one of the most powerful ways of giving everyone a chance.

We always knew that investing in people is the right thing to do; now we’re learning that, economically, it may very well be the smartest thing to do.

Over the past year, we’ve done several different analyses, and we’re finding that investments in human beings – especially in their health, education, and social protection – are far more powerfully correlated with economic growth than we ever thought.

Some of our economists at the World Bank Group are working with Chris Murray and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a group at the University of Washington that works closely with the Gates Foundation. We asked them to use their powerful analytic tools to look at the relationship between economic growth and improvements in human capital.

I’m using the term “human capital” because I want to make the point to the ministers of finance who are here today: when you invest in human beings, you’re putting in place the capital you need to grow your economies.

Too often, we still hear from leaders, “First we’ll grow our economies, then we’ll invest in our people.” Investing in people is investing in economic growth.

Briefly, here’s what we found:

If you look at the top quartile – the top 25 percent of countries that have improved human capital the most, and you compare them with the bottom 25 percent – countries that have improved human capital the least – the difference is enormous.

We looked at the 25 years between 1991 and 2016 – the difference in economic growth was 1.25 percent of GDP each year over 25 years. We need to do more work and more research, but this suggests that looking backwards, investments in human beings have had a huge impact on economic growth.

And looking forward, surely investing in people will become more important in the increasingly digital economy of the future. Some studies estimate that as many as 65 percent of primary school children today will work in jobs or fields that don’t yet exist.

We know that countries have had to make tough choices on how to spend scarce public funds. But we believe, and the evidence suggests, that the more – and more effectively – you invest in health, education, and social protection, the better you’ll do as an economy.

This idea has been around for some time. But with better data, greater transparency in sharing that data, and new, more powerful analytic tools, we’re now understanding that the relationship between human capital and economic growth could be far more profound than we ever imagined.

Soon, we’ll publish a document called The Changing Wealth of Nations, and for the first time, we’re looking at human capital as part of the overall wealth of nations. It turns out that more than 65 percent of the wealth of all nations in the world is in human capital.

In rich countries, human capital is a much larger proportion of overall wealth; in low-income countries, it’s a much smaller proportion. So developing countries have a long way to go.

We desperately need these investments now, because we’re facing several human capital crises:

·         Globally, 155 million children are stunted;

·         400 million people around the world lack access to essential health services;

·         100 million each year fall into poverty because of catastrophic health expenditures;

·         Only one-third of the world’s poor are covered by social safety nets.

Unless we act decisively, by 2030, 167 million children will still be living in extreme poverty.

We have to fundamentally change the way world invests in building human capital. Last week, I announced the Human Capital Project – an accelerated effort to help countries invest more – and more effectively – in their people.

The Human Capital Project will involve three efforts:

·         We will accelerate innovative and results-based financing for human capital investments.

·         We will continue to dig into the data linking investments in people to economic growth: we’re looking for new patterns and new answers.

·         And we’re forming a broad coalition that includes all stakeholders – other MDBs, international financial institutions, governments, civil society organizations, and the private sector.

Eventually, the Project will include rankings: one focusing on the stock of human capital, and another where we measure the flow – the investments countries are making today to build human capital.

We’re trying to create conditions where heads of state and finance ministers cannot resist investing in their people. We’re trying to create an environment where investing in people is not only the moral thing to do, but in fact it’s something they absolutely must do – with great urgency to drive economic growth. 

This will be controversial. But I feel that we have a moral responsibility to reveal to our shareholders the powerful relationship between investing in people and economic growth. And more importantly, we’re ready to help every single country rapidly accelerate the quality and quantity of their investments in people.

To accomplish all of these things – to deliver what countries need at the scale you expect of us – we need more resources.

Over the years, we have proven our exceptional value for money – 19 billion dollars of total paid-in capital for IBRD and IFC, since the beginning of this institution, has yielded:

o   More than 900 billion dollars of financing;

o   50 billion dollars of reserves;

o   And 28 billion dollars in transfers to IDA and other programs.  

With enormous development needs and rising aspirations, demand is overwhelming. Since the 2008 financial crisis, IBRD has almost doubled its lending portfolio. IFC grew its loan portfolio threefold, and its equity portfolio fivefold, over the last 10 years.

If we don’t enhance our financial capacity, IBRD would have to dramatically shrink its annual lending commitments by one-third. IFC would have to cut back its investments in IDA countries and fragile and conflict-affected states, as well as its equity investments, making the ability to create markets in the world's most difficult settings unattainable.

We have done a lot of good work with all of you. Many countries have evolved, progressed, and grown their way to new levels of development. We need to recognize that. And we need to open a dialogue with all of you, so that the resources of the World Bank Group keep getting channeled to where they make the most difference in achieving our twin goals.

And with a capital increase, we can fulfill our commitment to having a financially strong World Bank Group that possesses the ability to provide finance at a level that will meet the aspirations of our client countries.  

I feel a tremendous sense of urgency, not just because there are enormous needs in the world.

Aspirations are rising. And aspirations, linked to opportunity, can breed dynamism and inclusive, sustainable economic growth. But if there’s no opportunity to achieve one’s aspirations, rising frustration may very well lead countries down the path of fragility, conflict, violence, extremism, and eventually migration.

We can play a critical role in finding win-win solutions, where we maximize financing for development, and create opportunities for the owners of capital to make higher returns.

We can play a critical role, using our full range of financial tools to protect countries from overlapping crises.

And we can play a critical role, by helping countries make more – and more effective – investments in their people.

In five years as president of the World Bank Group, despite all of the troubles in the world, I’ve never been more optimistic that we can help people lift themselves out of poverty; that we can build new foundations of human solidarity.

But we must act, as the great Martin Luther King said, “with the fierce urgency of now,” knowing that, as he said, “there is such a thing as being too late.”

If we commit to these pillars,

If we invest the right resources,

If we act with the fierce urgency that these times require –

I believe that we can be the first generation in history to end poverty on the face of the earth. 

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2017/10/14 (00:01 PM)   -   Number of readings: 157   -   Number (4040)
 
 
Business: An international initiative to finance women entrepreneurs in developing countries



 The range / Zahraa al-Jassim 
 

Donor countries announced a entrepreneurship initiative by launching a Women's Entrepreneurship Initiative (WYV), following their participation in the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, showing that their project aims to promote women entrepreneurship and assist women in developing countries to increase their access to finance Markets and technology, and the networks needed to start and grow business. 
The World Bank Group announced at the G-20 summit on 8-7-2017 in Hamburg, Germany, the creation of a new innovative program aimed at providing more than $ 1 billion in funding to promote entrepreneurship for women and help women in developing countries increase their access to On financing, market access and networking needed to start and develop the project. The United States also put forward the idea of a program in which it would be a founding member along with other donor countries.
A statement issued by the World Bank Group on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, obtained (the range) a copy of it, World Bank President Jim Young Kim, "WYV is officially open to work, and I am confident that he can harness the enormous enthusiasm To open financing for women entrepreneurs in developing countries and to break the legal and regulatory barriers that prevent women from starting and developing businesses. Our mission to end poverty and increase prosperity can only be achieved if the full potential of entrepreneurs is exploited, Women (WIFI) over the past few months is encouraging and exciting.
In turn, the President of the United States, Ivanka Trump, said that Wi-Fi is now working officially, and I look forward to continuing my work with the World Bank Group through this facility to support women entrepreneurs around the world and remove barriers to their growth and success. Of working women is an economic and social priority. WAY will address many technological and financial barriers that impede creative and innovative entrepreneurs' contributions to growth, flexibility and stability.
Most of the heads of state stressed: the economic empowerment of women is an end in itself, but a major supporter of development. Women have enormous potential to be unleashed. When more women have equal rights and opportunities and freedom of choice, everyone wins. Countries can succeed only if women have equal opportunities for rights both in life and in the economy. The statement pointed out that the World Bank Group confirmed: Donor countries have officially launched the initiative to finance women's projects, "Wi-Fi" Which aims to leverage donor funding to launch more than $ 1 billion in IFC and trade finance through working with financial intermediaries, funds and other market players. The response of the international community has been marked and immediate, demonstrating the importance of increasing women's economic empowerment and expanding The scope of efforts to help women to open up and grow businesses, since we already have more than $ 340 million in donor commitments, exceeding our target by $ 100 million. The Wi-Fi program, Is a collaboration between the Governments of Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. This initiative fills an important gap and provides a major global platform for increasing access to capital. Reforms at the country level with private investment. As we invest in projects and programs that support women-led businesses, we will work with governments to address legal and regulatory barriers to female entrepreneurs and women-led businesses. WY-FI will learn and implement lessons learned about What can start and grow are sustainable female-owned and led companies, collect key data from the public and private sectors, and support innovation and learning for large-scale results.  
On the occasion of the annual meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, we would like to reiterate our commitment to remove the unique barriers facing entrepreneurs. We are open to business and we look forward to seeing the results of these valuable and productive investments. Women's businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises in the developing world have access to the financing they need. These institutions either close to financial institutions or can only receive high-interest and short-term loans, resulting in an annual credit deficit of up to $ 300 billion The lack of networks and knowledge resources, and the legal and political obstacles to business ownership and development, WY will provide an unprecedented opportunity to ensure that women entrepreneurs In countries
The We-Fi Entrepreneurship Initiative - the first on the scale led by the World Bank to promote entrepreneurship for women - will provide more than $ 1 billion in funding to improve access to capital, technical assistance and investment in women's projects and programs And small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) led by women in client countries of the World Bank Group. The goal of this initiative is to mobilize grant funding - currently over $ 300 million - to attract more than $ 1 billion from global financial institutions and trade finance by working with brokerage firms, investment funds and other market players.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, ChuckFinley said:

Sounds like you have been through this a time or two.  Trust you and your family are doing well. Still hoping 2017, but more likely 1QR 2018.  

I think my excitement levels about it all at the moment ChuckFinley are pretty basic as I focus on the well being of my dearly beloved.. As we are once again heading towards the end of 2017 I think you may be right in saying 2018..  But then again that will depend on how the Kurd issues play out and the issues of instability that are beginning to surface in neighbouring countries. 

...

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, NoviceInvestor said:

I think my excitement levels about it all at the moment ChuckFinley are pretty basic as I focus on the well being of my dearly beloved.. As we are once again heading towards the end of 2017 I think you may be right in saying 2018..  But then again that will depend on how the Kurd issues play out and the issues of instability that are beginning to surface in neighbouring countries. 

...

It is always something with these guys. No wonder everyone thinks this is a scam. Fifteen years  and counting. :lol:

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, ChuckFinley said:

It is always something with these guys. No wonder everyone thinks this is a scam. Fifteen years  and counting. :lol:

 

Depends on how you look at it, maybe the plan was for 16 Years to raise the value of the IQD and we are at the 16 Year mark:lol:

Its like, is the glass half empty or half full :confused2: I dunno,  and nobody knows for sure but one thing that keeps ringing in my head is the fact that the IQD is currently being forcefully held below its true value and the day will come when it will have its true worth. :soon:

Have a great weekend Chuck, hope one day we can raise a glass and cheer to the stamina we all endured to get to this baby to the next level.  :cheesehead:

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, yota691 said:
 
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim2017 Annual MeetingsWashington, DC, United States

As Prepared for Delivery


 

Chairman Fakhoury, Madame Lagarde, Governors, my dear friends Jim and Elaine Wolfensohn, Ministers, Friends,

It’s an honor to address you, five years after I first stood before you in Tokyo.

Each year, we gather for these Annual Meetings to address the most critical challenges that affect the lives of billions around the world. And each year, we chart the course of our collective efforts to make development work for everyone, to ensure a dignified life for all.

This is a critical time for the work of the World Bank Group. The good news is that global growth is robust – 2.7 percent this year. The second quarter of last year saw the highest quarterly growth rates since 2010.

Trade is picking up. But investment remains weak, and we’re concerned that downside risks such as a rise in protectionism, policy uncertainty, or possible financial market turbulence could derail this fragile recovery. That’s why now is the time for all countries to take action on the needed reforms to grow their economies and compete in what will surely be a more complex, demanding, and digitized future.

We’re also meeting again at a time when multiple crises are in full swing, or looming:

·         Conflict, pandemics, climate change, and famine are impacting people all over the world, and they are contributing to an historic number of people being forcibly displaced;

·         Countries in nearly every region are turning inward;

·         International and home-grown terrorism affects every corner of the world.

It often feels like our increasingly interconnected world is in fact falling apart and countries and peoples are pulling away from each other. Amidst this turbulence, organizations like the World Bank Group must step forward and help to build new foundations for human solidarity. We are part of the post-1945 world order that was predicated on the notion that what affects one city, one country, one region can have immediate and lasting impacts on us all. These new foundations for human solidarity must move us from the old construct of donors and recipients into a new development compact between stakeholders.

In 2013, we announced our goals to end extreme poverty by 2030, and boost shared prosperity among the poorest 40 percent around the world. And a year ago, I explained the three ways we will get there: by accelerating inclusive, sustainable economic growth; by building resilience to shocks and threats; and by investing more – and more effectively – in people.

For us, this is an especially important time for tackling global poverty, because we have more room to take bold action to grow the economy, protect countries from major overlapping crises, and invest in people.

Before giving you examples of our progress on all of these fronts, I want to thank the dedicated staff of the World Bank Group, who work tirelessly to reach our ambitious goals. And I’d like to applaud our clients and shareholders, who have made tremendous efforts under adversity to achieve their highest aspirations.

The first pillar of our strategy to end poverty and boost shared prosperity is to accelerate inclusive, sustainable economic growth.

We know that official development assistance will not be enough to meet the 4 trillion dollars per year needed to achieve the sustainable development goals, and meet the world’s rising aspirations.

Last April, ahead of the Spring Meetings, I called for a new approach where we maximize finance for development by systematically crowding in private sector investment and making it work for developing countries and poor people. We developed the Joint Principles for Crowding in Private Sector Finance, and the G20 endorsed those principles last summer. This is a great example of close collaboration between management and the Board, to launch a fundamental shift in our approach to development finance.

Maximizing Finance for Development isn’t based on ideology, nor is it a panacea for all development challenges. It’s an evidence-based approach where we ask a very straightforward question: How can we maximize the resources that developing countries have to do the things they need to do for their people, while minimizing the burden of public debt?  

Maximizing Finance for Development means finding win-win solutions, where investors get a good return, and countries utilize these resources to meet their development goals. We’re putting this approach to work with teams from across the World Bank Group, and we’ve already seen great results.

Three years ago in Egypt, subsidies for energy reached 6.6 percent of GDP – more than the government spent on health, education, and social protection combined. When Egypt wanted to reform its energy sector, the World Bank Group designed a comprehensive package:

·         IBRD contributed technical assistance and analytical experts, and a 3 billion dollar loan over 3 years for policy reforms;

·         IFC lent 645 million dollars to the private sector;

·         And with 210 million dollars of risk insurance from MIGA, the joint efforts of IFC and MIGA mobilized 2 billion dollars in private investment in Egypt’s Photovoltaic Solar Feed-in Tariff program.

The policy reforms, initial private investment, and risk insurance helped attract 15 banks and 20 different investors for a large Photovoltaic Solar Park Project, and many of these investors will contribute to future projects. The effort helped attract more than 15 billion dollars of private investment in Egypt’s gas sector.

As a result of their efforts to reduce fossil fuel subsidies and other reforms, the Egyptian government has increased their fiscal space by around 14 billion dollars a year. This has allowed the government to roll out two new cash transfer programs that reach 1.7 million poor Egyptians; food subsidies for the poorest have increased by 300 percent; and the government expanded its school lunch program.

We’ve learned some valuable lessons from this effort in Egypt, most importantly, that we could be more proactive in creating markets – and not just simply wait for them to appear on their own. And we’ve shown that it can work to finance sectors other than infrastructure, such as helping transform the health sector in Turkey.

In 2002, the infant mortality rate in Turkey was far higher than other OECD countries, and the life expectancy was years lower. So the government started an ambitious overhaul of the entire health system, which included advice and loans from IBRD.

Turkey launched a public-private partnership in 2010; IBRD provided a 134 million dollar loan and technical support system" rel="">support; IFC invested 241 million dollars, mobilizing an additional 540 million dollars in private investment; and MIGA provided political risk guarantees.

One of the flagship projects was the Elazig Integrated Health Campus – a 400 million euro, thousand-bed hospital that was financed by the first project bond issuance under the Turkish PPP program. MIGA and the EBRD worked with Rönesans Holding – a Turkish construction group, and Meridiam – a French infrastructure investor to develop an innovative credit-enhancement application that enabled the project to be financed in the bond market. They secured a Moody’s investment grade rating two notches above Turkish sovereign bonds.

These investments were relatively small, but very important parts of a large program that transformed Turkey’s health sector, considerably increasing access and improving public health. In 2002, less than two-thirds of Turkey’s population had health insurance, and just over half had regular access to health care. The Health Transformation Program has led to nearly universal access – 98 percent of people in Turkey are covered by affordable health insurance.

The program has also led to dramatic improvements in health across Turkey. Infant mortality rates were cut in half, life expectancy increased from 71 to 74 years, and the mortality of children under 5 fell 55 percent.

These are just two examples of many that we are now scaling and spreading around the world. There’s never been a better time to crowd in private sector investment. Right now, there’s more than 10 trillion dollars invested in negative interest rate bonds; 24 trillion dollars in low-yield government securities; and 5 trillion dollars sitting in cash, waiting for better investment with higher returns.

Last year at Davos, President Xi Jinping of China said that the global market system is the ocean we all swim in and cannot escape from. He said, “Any attempt to…channel the waters in the ocean back into isolated lakes and creeks is simply not possible.” Maximizing Finance for Development is our best chance to make the global market system work for everyone.

We need to embrace the notion that our greatest moral responsibility is to create equality of opportunity. The Maximizing Finance for Development approach gives countries the resources to build bridges, solar parks, and hospitals. It frees up funds for schools, job training, and social safety nets, and creates win-win solutions that can grow economies and give everyone opportunity – for a good education, for a stable job, for a chance to achieve their highest aspirations.

The second pillar of our strategy is to build resilience to overlapping shocks and crises, and one of the most critical is climate change.

When it comes to climate change, we’re running out of time – 2016 was once again the hottest year since record keeping began. The last three years each broke the previous record. Worldwide, more extreme natural disasters force 26 million people into poverty every year.

We have to reduce our carbon footprint and help countries adapt to natural disasters, like the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean and devastating floods in South Asia.

Last year, the World Bank Group loaned 12.8 billion dollars for climate investments, 22 percent of our portfolio. We’re now the largest funder of climate-related investments in the developing world, and we’re on track to meet our goal of having 28 percent of our portfolio deliver climate benefits by 2020.

We’re also using our convening power to scale up climate action by bringing the public and private sectors together. There’s 23 trillion dollars of potential investments just in the Paris commitments of 21 emerging economies – including green buildings, sustainable transport, renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

We need climate investments in the trillions, not billions of dollars. Around 90 trillion dollars will be invested in infrastructure over the next 15 years, just to replace aging infrastructure in advanced economies and meet expected growth in emerging economies. Right now, infrastructure investment tops out at around 3.4 trillion dollars annually, but the need is more like 6 trillion dollars a year. And all of this must be climate-smart, low-carbon, resilient infrastructure.

With the UN and France, we’re co-hosting the Paris Climate Summit on December 12, to connect investors with climate-smart investment opportunities.

Along with climate change, we have to do more to help refugees – and to help the countries and people who are providing the world with a global public good by hosting them.

A year ago, in the midst of the refugee crisis, we established a special fund that has provided 200 million dollars in grants and unlocked more than 1 billion dollars in concessional financing for Jordan and Lebanon. Lebanon, which is hosting more than 1.5 million displaced Syrians, has the highest per-capita ratio of refugees in the world. And Jordan, as the Chairman said, hosts more refugees than any country in the world. In both countries, 81 percent of Syrian refugees are under age 35, and 70 percent are poor.

This instrument, now known as the Global Concessional Financing Facility, is making a significant impact. In Jordan, the GCFF has helped provide 50,000 formal working permits to Syrian refugees. In Lebanon, this fund is financing roads and employment programs, creating more than a million days’ worth of labor in direct and indirect jobs. It is also getting kids out of the streets and into schools, to provide education and to prevent the tragedy of a lost generation.

This year, we also took a large step to break the cycle of panic and neglect around pandemics. Too often, we neglect infectious disease outbreaks until they become a global threat – and then we quickly forget about them after the threat subsides. With the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility, for the first time, we have actual pandemic insurance – a 450 million dollar policy that will automatically disburse funds to the poorest countries when an epidemic reaches a critical stage.  

This is the first time that pandemic risk in low-income countries is being shared with the financial markets. Why can’t we do the same thing for famine, or other humanitarian crises? I believe we can, and we’re working on it right now.  

The third pillar of our strategy is to invest more – and more effectively – in people.

For most of my adult life, I worked to provide care to people suffering from terrible diseases in some of the poorest parts of the world. And for most of my adult life, my colleagues and I have been advocating for more investments in people.

Usually we made a moral argument – that everyone deserves a chance to reach their highest aspirations. Providing health, education, and social protection is one of the most powerful ways of giving everyone a chance.

We always knew that investing in people is the right thing to do; now we’re learning that, economically, it may very well be the smartest thing to do.

Over the past year, we’ve done several different analyses, and we’re finding that investments in human beings – especially in their health, education, and social protection – are far more powerfully correlated with economic growth than we ever thought.

Some of our economists at the World Bank Group are working with Chris Murray and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a group at the University of Washington that works closely with the Gates Foundation. We asked them to use their powerful analytic tools to look at the relationship between economic growth and improvements in human capital.

I’m using the term “human capital” because I want to make the point to the ministers of finance who are here today: when you invest in human beings, you’re putting in place the capital you need to grow your economies.

Too often, we still hear from leaders, “First we’ll grow our economies, then we’ll invest in our people.” Investing in people is investing in economic growth.

Briefly, here’s what we found:

If you look at the top quartile – the top 25 percent of countries that have improved human capital the most, and you compare them with the bottom 25 percent – countries that have improved human capital the least – the difference is enormous.

We looked at the 25 years between 1991 and 2016 – the difference in economic growth was 1.25 percent of GDP each year over 25 years. We need to do more work and more research, but this suggests that looking backwards, investments in human beings have had a huge impact on economic growth.

And looking forward, surely investing in people will become more important in the increasingly digital economy of the future. Some studies estimate that as many as 65 percent of primary school children today will work in jobs or fields that don’t yet exist.

We know that countries have had to make tough choices on how to spend scarce public funds. But we believe, and the evidence suggests, that the more – and more effectively – you invest in health, education, and social protection, the better you’ll do as an economy.

This idea has been around for some time. But with better data, greater transparency in sharing that data, and new, more powerful analytic tools, we’re now understanding that the relationship between human capital and economic growth could be far more profound than we ever imagined.

Soon, we’ll publish a document called The Changing Wealth of Nations, and for the first time, we’re looking at human capital as part of the overall wealth of nations. It turns out that more than 65 percent of the wealth of all nations in the world is in human capital.

In rich countries, human capital is a much larger proportion of overall wealth; in low-income countries, it’s a much smaller proportion. So developing countries have a long way to go.

We desperately need these investments now, because we’re facing several human capital crises:

·         Globally, 155 million children are stunted;

·         400 million people around the world lack access to essential health services;

·         100 million each year fall into poverty because of catastrophic health expenditures;

·         Only one-third of the world’s poor are covered by social safety nets.

Unless we act decisively, by 2030, 167 million children will still be living in extreme poverty.

We have to fundamentally change the way world invests in building human capital. Last week, I announced the Human Capital Project – an accelerated effort to help countries invest more – and more effectively – in their people.

The Human Capital Project will involve three efforts:

·         We will accelerate innovative and results-based financing for human capital investments.

·         We will continue to dig into the data linking investments in people to economic growth: we’re looking for new patterns and new answers.

·         And we’re forming a broad coalition that includes all stakeholders – other MDBs, international financial institutions, governments, civil society organizations, and the private sector.

Eventually, the Project will include rankings: one focusing on the stock of human capital, and another where we measure the flow – the investments countries are making today to build human capital.

We’re trying to create conditions where heads of state and finance ministers cannot resist investing in their people. We’re trying to create an environment where investing in people is not only the moral thing to do, but in fact it’s something they absolutely must do – with great urgency to drive economic growth. 

This will be controversial. But I feel that we have a moral responsibility to reveal to our shareholders the powerful relationship between investing in people and economic growth. And more importantly, we’re ready to help every single country rapidly accelerate the quality and quantity of their investments in people.

To accomplish all of these things – to deliver what countries need at the scale you expect of us – we need more resources.

Over the years, we have proven our exceptional value for money – 19 billion dollars of total paid-in capital for IBRD and IFC, since the beginning of this institution, has yielded:

o   More than 900 billion dollars of financing;

o   50 billion dollars of reserves;

o   And 28 billion dollars in transfers to IDA and other programs.  

With enormous development needs and rising aspirations, demand is overwhelming. Since the 2008 financial crisis, IBRD has almost doubled its lending portfolio. IFC grew its loan portfolio threefold, and its equity portfolio fivefold, over the last 10 years.

If we don’t enhance our financial capacity, IBRD would have to dramatically shrink its annual lending commitments by one-third. IFC would have to cut back its investments in IDA countries and fragile and conflict-affected states, as well as its equity investments, making the ability to create markets in the world's most difficult settings unattainable.

We have done a lot of good work with all of you. Many countries have evolved, progressed, and grown their way to new levels of development. We need to recognize that. And we need to open a dialogue with all of you, so that the resources of the World Bank Group keep getting channeled to where they make the most difference in achieving our twin goals.

And with a capital increase, we can fulfill our commitment to having a financially strong World Bank Group that possesses the ability to provide finance at a level that will meet the aspirations of our client countries.  

I feel a tremendous sense of urgency, not just because there are enormous needs in the world.

Aspirations are rising. And aspirations, linked to opportunity, can breed dynamism and inclusive, sustainable economic growth. But if there’s no opportunity to achieve one’s aspirations, rising frustration may very well lead countries down the path of fragility, conflict, violence, extremism, and eventually migration.

We can play a critical role in finding win-win solutions, where we maximize financing for development, and create opportunities for the owners of capital to make higher returns.

We can play a critical role, using our full range of financial tools to protect countries from overlapping crises.

And we can play a critical role, by helping countries make more – and more effective – investments in their people.

In five years as president of the World Bank Group, despite all of the troubles in the world, I’ve never been more optimistic that we can help people lift themselves out of poverty; that we can build new foundations of human solidarity.

But we must act, as the great Martin Luther King said, “with the fierce urgency of now,” knowing that, as he said, “there is such a thing as being too late.”

If we commit to these pillars,

If we invest the right resources,

If we act with the fierce urgency that these times require –

I believe that we can be the first generation in history to end poverty on the face of the earth. 

Well, times' a wasting' . . . Let's get after it, Actions speak the loudest.

 

Great post Yota thank you :salute:

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • yota691 changed the title to Governor of the Central Bank heads to the United States to attend meetings of the IMF and the World Bank
 
1145.jpg
Governor of the Central Bank Ali Alalak "Economy News"

Economy News Baghdad:

The central bank announced on Sunday that the central bank governor has gone to the United States to participate in meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The central bank said in a press statement received by "Economy News", "headed a delegation headed by the governor of the Iraqi Central Bank Ali al-Alak to the United States to participate in meetings of the IMF and the World Bank this week."

He added that "it is hoped that the meeting on the sidelines of the meetings of a number of central bank governors headed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Holland and the Governor of the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia," noting that "there will be a meeting with the Chairman of the Board of the Arab Monetary Fund in addition to meetings with a delegation from the Treasury and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs And many other economic and financial figures. "

 

 

Views 131   Date Added 15/10/2017

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMF: Recovery of the global economy "not completed"

Readers

 

 

8

IMF: Recovery of the global economy "not completed"

 

15-10-2017 01:39 PM

The Euphrates -

 

IMF members said the global economy was improving, but also acknowledged that the difficulties were not over, with continued low inflation, weak growth expected and uneven recovery, which cast a shadow over growth estimates.

 

As central bank options dwindled and some sought to exit stimulus measures in times of crisis, the IMF renewed its call for fiscal policy and structural reforms to shoulder more of the burden of supporting recovery after the worst days of the economic storm.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Governor of the Central Bank heads to the United States to attend meetings of the IMF and the World Bank

 

 Since 2017-10-15 at 12:33 (Baghdad time)

50.jpg

 Baghdad Mawazine News

The Central Bank of Iraq announced on Sunday that the central bank governor went to the United States to participate in meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank .

"A delegation headed by the governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Ali al-Alak, headed to the United States to participate in the IMF and World Bank meetings this week, the central bank said in a press release .

He added that "it is hoped that the meeting on the sidelines of the meetings a number of central bank governors headed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Holland and the Governor of the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia," noting that "there will be a meeting with the Chairman of the Board of the Arab Monetary Fund in addition to meetings with a delegation from the Treasury and Ministry The US State Department and many other economic and financial figures . " Finished

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq attend meetings of the IMF and the World Bank

October 15, 2017

 

Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq attend meetings of the IMF and the World Bank

 

Headed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, Dr. Ali Mohsen Ismail formed a delegation from this bank and went to the United States of America to participate in meetings of the IMF and the World Bank this week.

 

It is hoped that the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq will meet on the sidelines of these meetings with a number of central bank governors (the Governor of the Central Bank of Holland and the Governor of the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia), as well as a meeting with the Chairman of the Arab Monetary Fund Treasury, State Department and many other economic and financial figures.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15-10-2017 02:14 PM
image.php?token=f7f56a6642ecb88a591feb6032bfc2b9&size=
 


 

 

A World Bank spokesman said the bank aims to develop new measures to strengthen its financial capacity and make its board decide on the next spring meetings in April 2018. 

The World Bank is seeking a general increase in the capital of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development two years ago but the administration of President Donald Trump Is reluctant to support it. 

A US treasury official told Reuters last week it was too early to think of such an increase and the World Bank needed to revise its public budget and stop diverting its resources to high-income emerging markets such as China and turning them into countries with higher needs. 

The bank had originally targeted its shareholders to make a decision on raising capital at the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, which began last week.

The joint development committee of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) asked in a statement issued on Saturday to look into all options. 

"We ask the board of directors and management to review all possible options to strengthen the financial capacity of the World Bank Group and develop a package of measures, including internal financing and public and voluntary capital increases, for consideration by the Governing Council with a view to reaching a decision at the Spring 2018 meetings," the committee said.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

PUBLICATION OCTOBER 11, 2017

Iraq's Economic Outlook - October 2017

 
 
 
 

The ISIS war and low oil prices since mid-2014 have severely impacted the economy. Contraction in oil production is resulting in negative overall growth in 2017, but owing to improved security the non-oil growth will turn positive after a three year decline, despite the ongoing fiscal consolidation. The government’s reform effort – but not reconstruction – is supported by a large international financing package. Growth will accelerate in 2018, sustained by higher oil production, despite persistent security risks.

Recent Developments

The ISIS insurgency and low oil prices have severely impacted Iraq’s growth, which decelerated in 2014-15, with government non-oil investment declining by two-thirds and rapid contraction of agriculture, manufacturing and construction. Strong oil production sustained economic growth in 2016, while the OPEC agreement to cut production until March 2018 is expected to lead to a contraction in growth in 2017. Non-oil growth has been negative since 2014, but a better security situation and the benefits of an initial reconstruction effort are expected to sustain non-oil growth at 1.5 percent in 2017. The drivers are construction and services on the supply side, and pick-up in government consumption and investments on the demand side. Owing to the pegged exchange rate and subdued aggregate demand, inflation has averaged 0.4 percent in 2016 and is estimated at 2 percent in 2017.

The low oil prices and higher security and humanitarian outlays rapidly deteriorated the fiscal and external balances since 2014 in the Federal Government of Iraq (GOI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government. GOI’s overall fiscal deficit increased to 14 percent of GDP in 2016 mainly because of a 22 percent fall in oil prices in the previous year; in response, GOI is implementing a fiscal consolidation program to reduce the non-oil primary deficit. In 2017, the fiscal deficit is estimated to reach 5.1 percent of GDP owing to a small recovery in oil prices and measures to increase non-oil revenues and to contain salaries and pensions. The GOI is prioritizing its limited investment expenditure for reconstruction in areas liberated from ISIS, and to increase electricity. KRG is also implementing measures to contain expenditure and improve non-oil revenue. KRG fiscal deficit decreased by 80 percent from 2014 to 2016. Spending pressures remain high to assist IDPs and refugees.

 

http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/iraq/publication/iraq-economic-outlook-october-2017

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Consultations for Country Partnership Framework in Iraq (2018-2023)

mena_iraq_consultations_en.jpg?itok=UYeU
#IraqConsultations: Share your Views to Help Rebuild Your Country

The World Bank is interested in hearing your opinion on its strategy for engagement in Iraq. As we prepare a Country Partnership Framework for the period FY18–FY23, we would like to hear your views on the priorities for development and how the World Bank can play a better role in helping the country to rebuild.

The Country Partnership Framework (CPF) is a partnership plan and the main tool guiding the WBG's support for Iraq’s development program. It starts from the country's own development goals, and it is built around widespread consultations and engagement with all stakeholders in society, from civil society organizations to individuals in local communities.

We invite you to take part in these consultations via face-to-face meetings and take our online surveys. You can also email IraqConsultations@worldbank.org for further information.

Overview

More than 11 million Iraqis are currently considered to need some form of humanitarian assistance. Agricultural production has declined by 40%, undermining the country’s food sufficiency. Because of this dire situation, we would like to focus on opportunities for the World Bank to support the country.

This consultations and engagement process we are launching includes both face-to-face meetings and surveys online and on social media to enable participation by a wide range of people.

Focus Areas and Objectives

Focus area 1: Institutional Strengthening and Efficiency through Improved Governance and Economic Stabilization

  • 1a: Improve public financial management, public investment management, and procurement management
  • 1b: Strengthen government wage expenditure controls
  • 1c:  Improve National Payment System and help implement anti-money laundering laws
  • 1d: support improved efficiency and transparency of the energy sector
  • 1e: Strengthen institutional framework for private sector development

Focus area 2: Delivery of Services through Social Protection, Reconstruction, and Economic Recovery

  • 2a: Improve social protection systems
  • 2b: support in the recovery, reconstruction and restoration of services in poor and conflict-affected areas
  • 2c: Improve the quality and efficiency of public infrastructure service delivery at the subnational level
  • 2d: Improve the quality of health and education in Iraq
DETAILS
CONSULTATION PHASE:
ONGOING
 
 

To participate in the consultation survey on our Facebook page, please use this link.

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://economy-news.net/conten.....hp?id=9383

Governor of the Central Bank heads to the United States to attend meetings of the IMF and the World Bank


1145.jpg 

15th October, 2017

The central bank announced on Sunday that the central bank governor has gone to the United States to participate in meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The central bank said in a press statement received by "Economy News", "headed a delegation headed by the governor of the Iraqi Central Bank Ali al-Alak to the United States to participate in meetings of the IMF and the World Bank this week."

He added that "it is hoped that the meeting on the sidelines of the meetings of a number of central bank governors headed by the Governor of the Central Bank of Holland and the Governor of the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia," noting that "there will be a meeting with the Chairman of the Board of the Arab Monetary Fund in addition to meetings with a delegation from the Treasury and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs And many other economic and financial figures. "

  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The recovery of the global economy is accompanied by the risk of weak growth

   
 

 
 


16/10/2017 12:00 am 

 BAGHDAD / Follow - up to the morning 
approved the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, after the annual fall meetings, that the recovery of the global economy dominated by the looming risk horizon, stressing at the same time assigning trade agreements to fair rules. 
The IMF, along with protectionism, is concerned about the growing indebtedness of emerging countries and some of the G-20 countries, which could affect the recovery. 
In the middle of this picture, economic analyst Rahim al-Shammari said that the relative stability of the oil market, one of the reasons for the recovery of the global economy touched by several countries, and despite the Fund's concern of indebtedness, but Iraq is committed to pay its financial obligations. 
Al-Shammari told Al-Sabah that Iraq has proven in the face of the economic crisis resulting from the drop in oil prices, despite the suspension of investment projects, urging the adoption of more effective fiscal policies in line with the economic reforms set by the government. 
"The global economy is improving but they also acknowledge that the difficulties are not yet over with continued low inflation, weak growth expected and uneven recovery, which has cast a shadow over growth estimates," IMF members said. 
As central bank options dwindled and some sought to exit stimulus measures in times of crisis, the IMF renewed the call for fiscal policy and structural reforms to shoulder more of the burden of supporting recovery after the worst days of the economic storm. 
"Structural reforms that are difficult to implement in difficult times are much easier in better times because expectations are stronger," IMF director Christine Lagarde told reporters. 
A statement by the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the Fund: The improvement of the global economy and increased investment, trade and industrial production improves expectations. 
But the committee's statement found that "the recovery is not yet complete" and inflation rates below target and expected growth are weak in many countries. A number of financial officials who participated in meetings of the IMF and the World Bank warned that although the economies of many countries have improved, some have been left behind. 
  • Upvote 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • yota691 changed the title to As security improves, Iraq banks seek a rebound.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Testing the Rocker Badge!

  • Live Exchange Rate

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.