Zebari: the budget deficit after the adjustment of $ 30 billion
Zebari: the budget deficit after the adjustment of $ 30 billion and a request to postpone the payment of compensation to Kuwait for two years
Posted, December 13 1 / December 2014 23:54
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Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari said after his ministry to reduce the deficit budget for fiscal 2015, but remained $ 30 billion.
Zebari said in a press statement that “After the refusal of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to the original draft budget, the Ministry of Finance has reduced spending by about ten billion dollars but still expected the deficit to about $ 30 billion.”
He pointed out that “the deficit was originally exceed 47 trillion dinars [$ 40 billion] with all the extra expenses, and then cut back contracts and payments or postpone non-essential projects.”
Zebari and hoped that “the government agree to a revised budget for 2015 at a meeting next Sunday.”
Despite going down the price of oil from $ 70 a barrel, said the Finance Minister said that “the government is adopting its spending plans for next year are still based on the approach of the price of this level as the IMF expects the arrival of the average crude price to that level over the whole year.”
Zebari said Iraq seeks “to postpone the final round worth $ 4.6 billion in damages related to the occupation of the former regime of Kuwait in 1990 and 1991″.
He stressed, “We are truly committed to pay this money on time until this moment,” he said, adding “We are holding discussions with Kuwaiti and seek to defer payments for two years, or at least for a year to make some room, to provide a realistic budget.”
The Minister of Finance “There understand this, and next week will see some frantic diplomatic activity between Baghdad and Kuwait, Geneva and New York to make a joint request to delay payment,” adding that “the delay of a year or two will give Iraq an outlet of the financial crisis.”
This comes Iraqi request of Kuwait at a time when the government is facing a liquidity crisis due to falling oil prices and fight al Daash.
Since the first time allowed the resumption of Iraq’s oil sales for nearly two decades before Iraq pays money to a United Nations body that oversees compensation for looting and damage caused by the previous regime of the occupation of Kuwait in the nineties of the last century, which lasted seven months.
It was compensation from Iraq to exchange more than a million demands were almost all pay and compensation totaling $ 52.4 billion of annual allocations amounting to five percent of the oil export revenue protection from Iraq to the United Nations Taweidat.anthy
alliraqnews.com
