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World Bank loan to help Iraq rebuild in areas retaken from ISIS
July 12, 2015
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WASHINGTON DC - Iraq said Sunday it had signed a $350 million loan package to finance emergency projects in territories reclaimed from the Islamic State group known as ISIS, or Daesh in Arabic.
The fund will be used for “emergency reconstruction of areas liberated from the Daesh terrorists,” the Iraqi finance ministry’s website said.
The agreement, signed in Baghdad by Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari and the World Bank’s director for the Middle East, Ferid Belhaj, is part of a larger package from the World Bank, aimed at developing infrastructure in Iraq.
“The loan comes in the framework of a technical and financial assistance from the World Bank that totals up to $1.7 billion in development plans in Iraq,” the ministry said.
In Washington in April, Zebari met with World Bank officials and called for $2 billion for the budget and for reconstruction in the liberated areas.The war with ISIS and a drop in oil prices has placed a severe financial strain on Iraq, with its current budget running a $20 billion deficit.
The World Bank loan will presumably allow displaced Iraqis to return to homes destroyed by the war with ISIS.
Iraqi forces and the northern Kurdistan region’s Peshmerga forces pushed ISIS out of the predominantly Sunni Diyala province earlier this year, but poor public services due to conflict and years of negligence have discouraged internally displaced person (IDPs) from returning to their hometowns.
Locals accuse the Shiite-led government of deliberate neglect of the Sunni areas, while Baghdad claims lack of cash to restore services.
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July 12, 2015
o
WASHINGTON DC - Iraq said Sunday it had signed a $350 million loan package to finance emergency projects in territories reclaimed from the Islamic State group known as ISIS, or Daesh in Arabic.
The fund will be used for “emergency reconstruction of areas liberated from the Daesh terrorists,” the Iraqi finance ministry’s website said.
The agreement, signed in Baghdad by Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari and the World Bank’s director for the Middle East, Ferid Belhaj, is part of a larger package from the World Bank, aimed at developing infrastructure in Iraq.
“The loan comes in the framework of a technical and financial assistance from the World Bank that totals up to $1.7 billion in development plans in Iraq,” the ministry said.
In Washington in April, Zebari met with World Bank officials and called for $2 billion for the budget and for reconstruction in the liberated areas.The war with ISIS and a drop in oil prices has placed a severe financial strain on Iraq, with its current budget running a $20 billion deficit.
The World Bank loan will presumably allow displaced Iraqis to return to homes destroyed by the war with ISIS.
Iraqi forces and the northern Kurdistan region’s Peshmerga forces pushed ISIS out of the predominantly Sunni Diyala province earlier this year, but poor public services due to conflict and years of negligence have discouraged internally displaced person (IDPs) from returning to their hometowns.
Locals accuse the Shiite-led government of deliberate neglect of the Sunni areas, while Baghdad claims lack of cash to restore services.
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