Iraq’s 2009 budget to hit $67 billion- minister

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The Iraqi minister of finance, Bayan Jabr Solagh, on Saturday announced a $67 billion budget for fiscal year 2009. “Iraq’s budget during the time of the former Iraqi regime has never exceeded $4 billion,” Solagh said during a speech he gave at a U.S.-Iraqi economic conference that opened earlier today and was attended by IraqiNews.com. The minister explained that an $80 billion budget had been proposed and later brought down to $67 billion during a meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in light of falling oil prices. Earlier this morning, a U.S.-Iraqi economic conference opened in the capital Baghdad with the participation of high-ranking officials from both sides. The conference, held at al-Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone, was attended by the deputy prime minister, Rafie al-Issawi, and the minister of finance. On Friday, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad announced that Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert M. Kimmitt, Deputy U.S. Commerce Secretary John J. Sullivan, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, and other U.S. officials would attend the conference. The governor of the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI), Sinan al-Shibibi, and the head of the National Authority for Investment, Ahmed Ridha, were among the participants. SS (S) 1