Baghdad-INA
"The head of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Uday Awad, confirmed on Monday that Parliament is moving toward passing the 2026 Borrowing and Grants Bill, in light of the absence of a general budget law."
Awad told the Iraqi News Agency (INA) that "the Parliamentary Finance Committee and Parliament are moving toward enacting the draft 2026 Borrowing and Grants Law due to the absence of a state budget."
He added, "The lack of a legal framework for borrowing prompted the submission of a proposal to legislate a borrowing law, this proposal has been discussed with the Minister of Finance, Falih al-Sari, and other officials and we are now in the process of drafting the law."
He explained that "Finance Minister Falih Sari will submit the proposal to the Finance Committee for adoption of the legislation;" clarifying that "domestic borrowing is financed by the Central Bank, while external borrowing is from other countries or the World Bank."
He indicated that "the law will grant the government the authority to seek loans, and there are many countries from which loans can be obtained, in addition to the Central Bank of Iraq," noting that "the Parliament, through this law, will grant the Council of Ministers and the Minister of Finance the authority to borrow to ensure the payment of salaries and the running of state affairs."
