BAGHDAD: The Islamic Development Bank has given its initial agreement to provide $3 billion in easy loans and grants to Iraq, helping the nation cope with a sharp decline in oil revenue, a central bank spokesman in Baghdad said Thursday in an email.
The spokesman did not give further details.
Iraq earlier this month agreed a $5.4 billion standby loan with the International Monetary Fund. Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari, announcing the agreement on May 19, said the IMF loans could unlock $15 billion more in international assistance over the next three years.
Iraq's economy has been hit by the plunge in oil prices since mid-2014 and the country is expected to have a financing gap of $17 billion this year unless it can secure more funding, an IMF document obtained by Reuters showed. The cost of fighting Islamic State militants is another burden on the budget.
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