Iraqi President approves Iraq’s general budget
The Iraqi President, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid. Photo: Iraqi Presidency
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The Iraqi President, Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid, approved on Wednesday the federal budget law, according to a statement issued by the Iraqi Presidency.
Rashid said that approving the budget is a step to moving forward with the government’s program, which will secure the necessary needs of the people, provide basic services in health and education sectors, rehabilitate the infrastructure, and initiate vital and strategic projects that will have a positive impact on the lives of Iraqis.
The Iraqi President emphasized the need to rationalize government spending, preserve public money, and diversify the sources of the economy, particularly with the economic and environmental challenges the country is facing.
The President approved the budget law after the Iraqi parliament passed the 198.9 trillion Iraqi dinar ($153 billion) budget for 2023 in mid-June.
The new budget includes record expenditures on an increasing government salary bill and development projects aimed at improving services and rebuilding war-damaged infrastructure.
The Iraqi Parliament voted on the proposed federal budget law for Iraq for fiscal years 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The budget deficit is anticipated to be 64.36 trillion Iraqi dinars ($49.14 billion), a record high and more than quadruple the previous year’s deficit.
The Iraqi parliament approved a new article allocating 150 billion Iraqi dinars ($114.5 million) for the completion of Iraqi-Chinese projects.