PM Advisor: Al-Alaq upcoming visit to NY supports banking system stability

INA - BAGHDAD

PM's Advisor for Financial Affairs, Mudher Muhammed Salih, confirmed on Monday, that the upcoming visit of the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq - CBI, Ali Al-Alaq, to New York, will support the protection and stability of the banking system, indicating that the file of the sanctioned banks requires negotiation due to the possibility of an error or exaggeration in issuing the decision to sanction them.

"CBI is a strategic institution that works to support the value of the dinar and its stability as well as build balances in the Iraqi balance of payments and regularity of payments and international reserves that support Iraq's foreign trade," said Salih in a statement to the Iraqi News Agency - INA.

He noted, "Due to the rentier nature of the economy, CBI and its reserves have become the feeder and financier of foreign trade for the private sector," pointing out that "Iraqi oil sales are in dollars and are deposited with the US Federal Reserve via an open account in the name of CBI, which the bank manages on behalf of the Iraqi government."

"The upcoming visit of the Governor of CBI, Ali Al-Alaq, to New York City in the United States of America comes to protect the Iraqi banking system and support its stability," he highlighted.

Salih explained, "CBI, by its work and responsibility to maintain the financial system of Iraq, must negotiate with the US side regarding the file of the sanctioned banks to alleviate the severity of the deprivation on the banks, as there may have been a mistake or exaggeration that preceded the decision to sanction them by the US side," stressing, "There is insistence and communication from CBI in a good and positive way to protect the Iraqi banking system."