ECONOMIC GOVERNANCE
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE
Developed WTO Accession Roadmap in cooperation with Iraqi officials.
Provided technical assistance as well as information on contracting opportunities for Iraqi businesses and entrepreneurs through business centers.
Worked with the Ministry of Finance to introduce the new Iraqi dinar.
Created more than 77,000 public works jobs through the National Employment Program.
Provided technical assistance on accounting, budgeting and lending activities at Iraq’s commercial banks. Trained 116 bankers from the Rafidain and Rasheed banks in six training courses.
Assisted in management of $21 million micro-credit program.
Improved statistical analysis, monetary policymaking, and bank supervision procedures at Iraq’s Central Bank; offered a two-week banking course to Central Bank staff with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Evaluated and updated commercial laws on private sector and foreign investment.
Assisted in developing the 5 percent reconstruction levy on imports; built capacity of customs officials to implement levy.
Developed a government-wide IT strategy to support the automation of planning, budgeting and reporting processes across ministries.
Provided technical support for the re-opening of the Iraq Stock Exchange after it was closed down for more than 15 months; 3.6 billion Iraqi dinars ($2.4 million USD) in shares were traded in the first day.
USAID supports economic reforms in Iraq which will strengthen the Central Bank and the Ministries of Finance, Trade, Commerce and Industry. Experts examine laws, regulations, and institutions for reform within Iraq. The projects USAID implements provide a framework for private sector trade, commerce, and investment throughout Iraq.
HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
Staff from USAID’s Izdihar project recently completed a draft of an international “best practices” law on privatization of state-owned enterprises to support the Government of Iraq. The new draft injects much needed specifics about international best practices and clarifies the necessity and role of an Iraqi agency in overseeing the privatization process. The draft also stipulates procedures so that privatization can occur in a fair, transparent, and timely manner. The new draft legislation supports the Government of Iraq’s desire to be free from carrying the expenses for state-owned enterprises that more properly belongs in the country’s private sector.
USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios and Iraq’s Minister of Planning signed an agreement in Amman, Jordan, to establish the Iraq Investment Promotion Agency, which will play a leading role in job creation and economic development for years to come. The agreement commits USAID to equip the new agency’s staff and train them in managing the organization and promoting investment. Support will be delivered through USAID’s Izdihar project, whose staff had worked with the Government of Iraq to develop an investment promotion strategy that culminated in the signed agreement. With the creation of the Iraq Investment Promotion Agency, Iraq will join the more than 160 other countries with similar agencies that compete for approximately $7 trillion annually in foreign direct investment worldwide. In addition, the work of the new agency will help expand the markets for Iraq’s domestic products and services, stimulate economic growth, and create new jobs at home.
Sixteen Iraqi accounting and auditing professionals recently received international accounting standards training in Amman, Jordan, as part of the Izdihar project. The sixteen professionals, who are members of accounting and auditing associations, university professors and industry practitioners, will become the core group of trainers who will lead seminars for more than 300 accounting students and industry professionals in Iraq. During more than a decade of isolation, Iraq lost touch with international accounting standards, international financial reporting standards, and ethical standards for accountants and requirements for typical modern annual reporting for corporations. In order to address these needs, the training of trainers program was developed to improve the skills of Iraqi accountants, strengthen the account- ing industry in Iraq and enhance the accountability, transparency and usefulness of financial documents used to make sound business management decisions.
AGRICULTURE
MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO DATE
Summer and Winter Crop Technology Demonstrations: These demonstrations are introducing farmers to new technologies and techniques through extension field days.
Animal Health: Several veterinary clinics in Kirkuk, Fallujah, and other cities are being renovated and a grant has been made for dipping tanks to improve sheep health and wool.
Technology Support: The Ministry of Agriculture and a major university’s schools of Agriculture and Veterinary Science have been awarded grants to furnish and equip computer centers, improving research capabilities and consulting capacity.
Date Palm Propagation: In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, 40,000 elite date palm offshoots are being used to establish mother orchards in 13 governorates as part of a multiplication program and the establishment of a national register of elite varieties.
Agriculture Sector Transition Plan: This plan, completed in April 2004, addresses the short-term recovery of agricultural infrastructure as well as medium- and long-term implementation of policies to develop a market-based agricultural economy.
USAID’s goals are to work in conjunction with Iraqi ministries, the private sector, and higher education institutions to revitalize agricultural production, stimulate income and employment generation, nurture rural initiatives, and rehabilitate the natural resource base.
HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
The Agriculture Reconstruction and Development for Iraq (ARDI) program’s recent winter crop demonstration showed that the modernized farming methods used produced crop yields that were an average of 48 percent higher than fields planted using traditional methods. Under the program, ARDI and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) planted 40 demonstration areas on the fields of cooperating farmers in Sulaymaniyah, Arbil, and Da-huk. Each area contained two one-hectare plots; one planted using traditional practices and the other using modernized practices.
The program addressed problems that contribute to low wheat yields, such as shortages of equipment and improved seeds, and the absence of weed and pest control. The demonstration crops introduced improved wheat cultivation practices to farmers in order to increase yields and lower the cost of production. Farmers were invited to field days at the demonstration plots, at which MOA and USAID staff explained the improved practices. A total of 1,219 farmers and agriculture students participated in the field days. Farmers expressed interest in implementing the improved wheat cultivation practices.
Ministry representatives met to discuss the progress of the Strategy for Water and Land Resources in Iraq. All participating ministries are collecting data relevant to water and land use, including hydrologic and hydrogeologic information, water quality, and crop-water requirements. This data will be used to analyze specific interventions and strategy priorities. At this meeting, the ministries decided to each nominate a Data Collection Leader to develop a data collection work plan which will specify detailed data to be collected, time required, and resources needed. All ministries also agreed to nominate a representative to the Steering Committee, an inter-ministerial and inter-governorate body that will guide the Strategy for Water and Land Resources planning and development process. It will hold its first full meeting in early September. The Strategy for Water and Land Resources in Iraq, will serve as the first inclusive planning document for Iraq’s water sector since 1982. Through the planning process the Iraqi government will determine the availability of water resources. The strategy will then enable coordination between ministries and governorates to allocate those water resources. The strategy will also provide a foundation for continued restoration of the Southern Marshlands, and provide the Iraqi government with a strong position when negotiating international water treaties with its neighbors.
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