Iraq to Boost Foreign Currency Assets to Finance Trade

The official Iraqi news agency reported on Saturday, citing a government source, that "officials from the Central Bank of Iraq held intensive meetings with American officials in Abu Dhabi in recent days to discuss foreign transfer operations to cover imports." The government source mentioned that "Iraq has bolstered its yuan-denominated assets through the Singapore Development Bank to finance trade and Iraqi imports from China by about $12 billion annually." Additionally, the source stated that "the oil-exporting country has also moved to enhance its dirham-denominated assets and is negotiating to increase its euro-denominated assets to finance trade with the European Union."