Iraqi Parliament Approves Budget Increase until 2024
The Iraqi parliament has given its seal of approval for the country’s proposed budget, setting the stage for increased expenditures until the end of 2024. The budget bill, which raised Iraq’s expenditure to 211 trillion Iraqi dinars, was passed by 199 lawmakers during a session chaired by the parliament’s acting speaker, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi.
In June 2023, Iraq had approved a record $152 billion three-year budget, with a share of 12.6% allocated to the Kurdistan region. However, the 2024 budget comes with a deficit of around 63 trillion Iraqi dinars, representing about one-third of the total budget.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani has been working with the parliamentary financial committee to amend relevant laws, ensuring that companies in Iraqi Kurdistan receive payments for their production costs. Member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mouin Al-Kadhimi, noted that the rise in the budget’s overall amount led to an increase in the deficit.