J.P. Morgan visits Iraq to discuss increasing non-oil revenue

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani, indicated on Thursday that the government will continue reforms in the Iraqi banking sector, support global trade and the private sector, and work to stop money laundering operations in compliance with international standards, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s press office.

Al-Sudani received a delegation from US bank, J.P. Morgan, including the Chair of the Governing Board of J.P. Morgan Development Finance Institution, Daniel Zelikow, and the Head of MENA Public Sector Group, Ghali Laraki.

The meeting addressed the support provided to the banking sector, the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), and the private sector, the statement illustrated.

The officials discussed international trade and risk management in addition to increasing non-oil revenues, which represent one of the most important administrative and financial reform priorities of the Iraqi government, the statement revealed.

Al-Sudani hailed the role of J.P. Morgan Bank in establishing the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI), which represents Iraq’s commercial banking window to the world, asserting that Iraq had prepared a development plan for all sectors, the statement explained.

The Iraqi Prime Minister expressed the government’s readiness to support international banks in Iraq, including J.P. Morgan’s international branches, as they represent the basis of the banking system that provides guarantees to investors, the statement added.

Al-Sudani called for supporting the CBI and developing the Industrial Bank of Iraq to be qualified for large investments, as happened previously with the TBI.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is a global American financial services organization with its headquarters in New York City. By market capitalization, it is both the largest bank in the United States and the largest bank globally.