Iraq Economic News and Points To Ponder Saturday Morning 9-12-26
Experts: Devaluing The Dinar Is Not A Solution To The Deficit... And The Government Has Other Alternatives That Don't Involve The Citizen's Pocket
About the news
With the deficit approaching one billion dollars per month, experts disagree on the feasibility of raising the dollar exchange rate.
Economic warnings against a return to raising the price of the dollar... Al-Khafaji: The citizen with limited income will pay the price.
Economic analysts have warned against resorting again to raising the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar, stressing that this step will exacerbate the burdens on citizens and push the prices of goods and services to rise.
Working to attract foreign investment and implement development projects.
The Iraqi economy is caught between the hammer of declining oil revenues and the anvil of inflation... and calls to stop tampering with the currency.
Economic analyst Abdul-Azim Al-Khafaji said that "any government move to raise the price of foreign currency is an ill-considered measure," noting that "the biggest loser from this policy will be the citizen, especially those with average and limited incomes, who will bear the burden of rising prices and declining purchasing power."
Al-Khafaji added that "this step would lead to a new wave of inflation," calling on the government to "look for economic alternatives and other financial solutions that do not affect the value of the local currency or burden citizens with the consequences of economic crises."
In contrast, economist Kazem Jaber stressed that "the economic policies pursued by the current government aim to address the challenges facing Iraq in light of the heavy reliance on oil revenues, which constitute about 95% of the state's resources."
He explained that "among the options being considered is reducing the value of the dinar against the dollar, in addition to working to attract foreign investments and implementing development projects within Iraq." https://channel8.com/arabic/news/86243
The 50 And 100 Dinar Denominations Will Return With The Change Of Currency
Sunday, economic expert Mustafa Hantoush expected that the 50 and 100 dinar denominations would return to circulation if the currency change continued, indicating the possibility of issuing new monetary denominations with stronger security specifications .
Hantoush said, in a televised interview followed by Al Saa'a Network, that "the Central Bank may issue a new currency with advanced security specifications, with the possibility of offering monetary denominations of less than 250 dinars, such as 100 fils".
He added, "The Central Bank may move to issue denominations of 50 and 100 dinars in the next stage", indicating that "returning these denominations may contribute to supporting the currency and strengthening the position of the Central Bank".
He explained that "the Central Bank has not made a final decision on this step, while the government is working to form a committee to study the issue, pending the completion of the procedures related to it within the House of Representatives."
Crisis Expert: The State Needs A Genuine Review Of Its Financial Management System
Information/Baghdad... Crisis expert Ali al-Fariji stressed the need for the government to review the state's financial management system to prevent a recurrence of the financial crisis, particularly regarding employee salaries.
Al-Fariji told Al-Maalouma, “What is happening today should be a wake-up call for the Iraqi state. The salaries of millions of employees and retirees, as well as essential services, cannot remain almost entirely dependent on revenue from a single source and a single export route.”
He added, "Iraq today does not suffer from a lack of resources, but rather from a clear and genuine weakness in resource, liquidity, and risk management."
He explained that "what is required is not just finding funds for August salaries, but preventing the same problem from recurring in September and October."
He pointed out that "a state that possesses oil but struggles to finance its employees' salaries needs a genuine review of its financial management system, not a temporary solution at the end of each month." End 25
Government Adviser: Al-Zaidi’s Visits To France And Germany Carry Investment Message To Europe
Baghdad – INA - 9/11/2026 Financial Adviser to the Prime Minister Mazhar Mohammed Saleh said that Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi’s anticipated visits to France and Germany reflect Iraq’s orientation toward an investment partnership with Europe.
In a statement to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), Saleh said, “The visit comes at an important economic juncture and is consistent with the shifts reflected at the G7 summit in Evian, France, on June 16, 2026, particularly its move toward adopting the principle of long-term investment partnerships, promoting joint investment, mobilizing private capital, and using guarantees, blended financing and risk-sharing mechanisms to finance strategically important projects.”
He added that “the visit will carry a clear message that Iraq is seeking genuine investment partnership with Europe rather than financing,” noting that “Iraq possesses natural resources, a strategic geographic location, a market and major projects, while European companies and institutions possess capital, technology, expertise and access to global markets.”
He continued that “what is required is to bring these advantages together through joint projects that generate returns for investors and added value for the Iraqi economy,” pointing out that “the priority is to move from memoranda of understanding to projects that can be implemented by selecting a significant number of strategic projects, identifying investors and partners, determining financing requirements, guarantees and risk-sharing mechanisms, and setting clear timelines for financial close and the commencement of implementation.”
Saleh explained that “foremost among these projects is the Development Road project, which is being presented to Europe as an integrated strategic economic corridor rather than merely a railway and transport project, encompassing the Grand Faw Port, industrial and logistics zones, energy, communications and services,” stressing that “the project will serve as a model platform for joint Iraqi-European investment.”
He noted that “the talks are expected to focus on energy, industry, petrochemicals, infrastructure, transport and communications, with priority given to projects that facilitate technology transfer, create jobs and develop value chains within Iraq, in line with the new principles adopted by the G7 since its 2025 summit, rather than limiting cooperation to contracting agreements or the export of raw materials.”
He pointed to the importance of “differentiating between the priorities of Paris and Berlin,” saying that cooperation with France could focus on energy, transport, infrastructure, water and technology, while cooperation with Germany could focus on industry, energy, railways, equipment, industrial technology, training and knowledge transfer.
He said that “the key objective of the visit is to reach agreement on a joint Iraqi-European investment mechanism that brings together Iraqi capital, European and international financial institutions, European companies and the Iraqi private sector, while using guarantee and blended-financing instruments to mitigate risks and attract greater investment.”
Saleh stressed that “the success of the visit should not be measured by the number of agreements and memoranda of understanding signed, but by the number of projects that advance to final-stage studies, financial close and actual implementation.”
He noted that “Iraq has an opportunity to redefine its economic relationship with Europe on a new basis, one centered on partnership rather than aid, investment rather than financing alone, production rather than imports, and the creation of value chains within Iraq rather than merely investing in its resources.”
He underscored that “the clearest message conveyed by the visit is that Iraq is not asking Europe to finance its future, but inviting it to invest alongside Iraq in its future.”