Government of Iraq Launches Workhop with the World Bank to Improve Public Financial Management.
Baghdad, July 7, 2007 - Senior representatives of the Government of Iraq joined the World Bank and other international partners to launch the first in a series of workshops on public financial management.
 Through these workshops the Government and the World Bank will review the public financial management system in Iraq and identify reforms to help the Government use its financial resources more efficiently and effectively and with greater transparency and accountability, for the benefit of all Iraqis.
Iraq’s Minister of Finance, representatives of the Ministry of Planning and Development Cooperation, and other senior Iraqi officials participated in the workshop. International partners participating in the workshop included the United Kingdom Ambassador to Iraq, the European Commission Ambassador to Iraq, representatives of the US government and various representatives of the international development community.
“These workshops will enable the Government of Iraq and the World Bank to complete a Public Expenditure and Institutional Assessment (PEIA),” stated Andrew Laing, World Bank Senior Public Sector Specialist. “The PEIA will provide the basis for Iraq to develop a program to reform and modernize its public financial management system.”
To carry out the analysis, the PEIA is employing a framework developed during the last few years by the Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) Program, an initiative supported by a group of multilateral and bilateral donors.
“Public financial management reform is a key component of the International Compact that we presented to international partners in May this year,” stated H.E. Bayn Jabr, Minister of Finance. “The Government is committed to ensuring that Iraqi public funds and resources are effectively managed to serve the reconstruction and development needs for our citizens. Ultimately this is about providing better services, education, health, electricity and not least security, for all Iraqis,” he further added.
The public financial management workshops are financed by the World Bank.
For more information on the World Bank’s work in Iraq, visit: www.worldbank.org/iq
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