Shafaq News-Baghdad/ Washington
The UnitedStates pledged deeper economic cooperation with Iraq during talks betweenFinance Minister Faleh Al-Sari and US Chargé d’Affaires Joshua Harris onWednesday, as Baghdad advances a broad economic reform plan centered on a newprogram-based budgeting system.
Al-Sari saidthe government is preparing measures to address longstanding financial andeconomic challenges in coordination with state institutions and internationalpartners. He also outlined plans to gradually transition from traditionalbudgeting to a program-based budget system designed to improve spendingefficiency and link financial allocations to specific objectives and measurableoutcomes.
For hispart, Harris reaffirmed Washington's support for the new Iraqi government,stressing US readiness to assist Iraq in addressing financial challenges andachieving a more stable and prosperous economic future.
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The UnitedStates has repeatedly linked its support for Iraq to progress on consolidatingstate control over weapons, a process the Iraqi government has said it aims tocomplete by September.
Thediscussions came hours after government spokesperson Haider Al-Abboudiannounced that the Council of Ministers had approved the drafting of a programbudget in cooperation with the World Bank and the parliamentary FinanceCommittee as part of wider reform efforts. He described the initiative as anindependent investment vehicle separate from Iraq's general budget. Themechanism is expected to draw on contributions from Iraq's internationalpartners, backed by guarantees estimated at between $100 billion and $150 billion,to promote sustainable economic stability through investment rather than directgovernment spending.