Iraqi Kurdistan Should Get 'Fair Share' From IMF Loan to Iraq

Iraqi Kurdistan should get an equitable share from the expected loans by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Iraq, the representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to the United States, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — "We know that, of course, Baghdad is talking to the IMF and there is a discussion on a standby loan. We would, and we have expressed this to the IMF, and also to the United States and the Prime Minister of Iraq, we would expect that if Iraq was to get a loan from the IMF Kurdistan should receive its rightful share,," Rahman stated.

The same expectation holds for assistance from the World Bank, if and when there is a loan, she added.

Rahman argued that Iraqi Kurdistan should have the share from the expected financial assistance because the region is part of Iraq and because of the contributions it is making in the War on Terrorism and overcoming the country’s humanitarian crisis.

"First, the [Kurdish] Peshmerga have made a huge sacrifice and are making a huge contribution in the fight against ISIS [Islamic State]. Second, more than half of the displaced people in Iraq have come to Kurdistan," Rahman explained. "We need all of those things to be recognized and that’s why it’s so important for us that any financial assistance to Iraq recognizes that Kurdistan deserves its fair share."

The representative noted that the issue has been acknowledged by Baghdad as well as by both international financial institutions.

"The loans haven’t arrived yet anyway. So we just have to wait and see whether everybody’s going to deliver on their promises and we expect that they will," Rahman observed.

She also stated that KRG has not faced any problems in its discussions with them so far and remains optimistic.

"But, as the English say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, so we have to wait and see the reality on the ground," Rahman concluded.

In May, the IMF made a staff-level arrangement for $5.4 billion worth of financial assistance over the next three years was made. However, the decision has to be approved by the IMF Board of Directors, which will meet later in June.

In July 2016, the IMF is to provide Iraq with $1.2 billion under the Rapid Financing Instrument program.

The Iraqi Kurdistan autonomous region in the country's north is a part of the historic Kurdish region, parts of which also belong to Syria, Iran and Turkey. The region has its own government, parliament and armed forces.