Kurdistan: Iraq’s Autonomous Kurdistan Government Looking to Borrow Internationally

Feb 6, 2015 | Rudaw
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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is considering borrowing abroad “to strengthen economic infrastructure,” a Kurdish lawmaker told Rudaw.

Izat Sabir, chairman of the Finance Committee in the Kurdistan parliament, said that Baghdad has suggested it would not object to the move as long as the KRG is responsible for repaying any money borrowed abroad, and that the money would be borrowed from banks in Germany and the United States.

“The Finance Committee has sent a report to the parliament presidency. We are waiting for the legal committee for their report. After that report the question of loans will be placed in the parliament’s agenda and will soon enter voting phase,” Sabir explained.

“This loan will be an international loan and it is not meant to replace any other income,” he said. “This loan is to strengthen economic infrastructure,” he said, explaining that the budget received from the central government for the next three years was insufficient for investments in infrastructure.