During the meeting, in which French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, President of the World Bank David Malpas and a number of other world leaders, the President of the Republic stressed that the challenges we face as an international community are huge and urgent challenges that can be overcome if we make united efforts And concerted, indicating that some tend to look internally, and let each country solve the problem alone.Although the effect of the virus is local, the crisis is a global crisis and therefore needs an international response.
"We are fully aware that the road ahead will be long and arduous, but we have no choice but to persevere and triumph, and we must act with a high sense of embarrassment of the situation, with compassion and determination to achieve positive results, otherwise we will fail our people, especially our youth," added the President.
"We are still a country in a recovery phase. We have gone beyond a civil war and the violence and terrorism practiced by the so-called Islamic State, but our efforts to rebuild are still fragile. Popular demonstrations in the past autumn and winter, and the tragic victims, are considered As a stark reminder that the patience of the Iraqi people has limits. "
The President stressed that "achieving a more prosperous future and addressing the weaknesses of the Iraqi economy are promises made by the new government to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi in its program."
The President of the Republic stressed that "we need transitional mechanisms to bridge the gap so that we can immediately implement fiscal stimulus policies that take us out of closed circles in order to enable the stability of our financial affairs and our economy so that we can counter the effects of Covid-19."
The following is the text of Mr. President's speech:
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Prime Ministers of Canada and Jamaica and to the United Nations Secretary-General for organizing this important meeting.
The challenges we face as an international community are huge and urgent;Especially in the Middle East and developing countries, where the effects of the virus can extend for longer periods and have more damage because they have burdened health infrastructure.
But those challenges can be overcome if we make united and concerted efforts.Some may be inclined to look internally, and let each country solve the problem alone.Although the impact of the virus is local, the crisis is a global crisis and therefore needs an international response.We need to unite in our commitment to counter the spread of Covid-19, to find a vaccine, and to recover our economic recovery.The specific topics of this forum are essential for achieving these goals.
Despite fears of the second wave of the virus returning, we have felt the economic impacts of the epidemic.The requirements of social separation have stopped many sectors of our economy.According to World Bank estimates, the number of Iraqis living below the poverty line increased from less than 20% at the end of 2019 to about 40%..
Where Iraq was subjected to multiple shocks: the collapse of domestic demand due to the restrictions imposed to combat Covid-19, the sharp drop in oil prices since March and recently the significant reduction in Iraq's oil production by about 23% as part of the OPEC + agreement in April.
Our dependence on oil imports means that our budget imports have decreased by more than 70% compared to pre-crisis levels, which compels us to take emergency measures to cover basic expenses.We may need, as a result, an inevitable rationing of our spending, but even so we may face the possibility of a large budget deficit this year;This will require funding to withdraw reserves and increase debt.In general, our economy is expected to shrink by about 10% during 2020, with an expected prospect for recovery in 2021.
All this comes at a sensitive time for Iraq.We are still a country in the recovery phase.We have gone beyond civil war, violence, and terrorism practiced by the so-called Islamic State, but our efforts to rebuild are still fragile. The popular demonstrations in the past autumn and winter, and the tragic victims that have fallen, are seen as a stark reminder that the patience of the Iraqi people has limits.
Achieving a more prosperous future and addressing the weaknesses of the Iraqi economy are promises made by the new government to Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi in its program.
We are fully aware that the road ahead will be long and arduous, but we have no choice but perseverance and victory, and we must act with a high sense of embarrassment of the situation with compassion and determination to achieve positive results, otherwise we will fail our people, especially our youth.
We cannot hope for success like many other countries without the cooperation of the international community. The financial and liquidity crises we face make it difficult to achieve our basic financing and debt obligations.We hope that the international community will support these efforts, including helping us with economic restructuring and supporting us in achieving our investment budget, which are important efforts to build infrastructure, maintain basic services and create jobs.
And for developing countries, such as Iraq, that face these challenges;The possibility of employing rapid means that help us guarantee local liquidity and the ability of the private sector to obtain loans that alleviate the direct debt burden on the state are important means if we want to ensure that the current crisis does not enable us to restrict us and limit our ability to implement the much needed reform in the long run.
We need transitional mechanisms to bridge the gap so that we can immediately implement fiscal stimulus policies that take us out of closed circles in order to enable the stability of our financial affairs and our economy so that we can counter the effects of Covid-19, then we can use it as a platform to make smarter exchange choices in the future that will stimulate economic growth.
Iraq’s success in combating extremism and helping to restore stability to this region is crucial. We have done a lot to stabilize Iraq and overcome difficulties in the past.
With the Corona pandemic, the crisis deepened more and the challenges became more painful. I am sure that many countries feel the same amount of challenges and difficulties, but we have no choice but to work together at the global level to build better.
We hope to turn this crisis into an opportunity to build a better, stronger global cooperative economy.
thank you.
Barham Salihpresidency.iq/Details.aspx?id=8660