Deputy Secretary Wolin Visits Iraq

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Deputy Secretary Wolin Visits Iraq
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal S. Wolin visited Baghdad, Iraq February 12 – 14 to engage new Iraqi leadership on key economic challenges and the path forward for Iraq. During his two-day visit, Deputy Secretary Wolin met with Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Rowsch Shaways, Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani, Minister of Finance Rafi al-Issawi, Chairman, PM Advisory Committee Thamir al-Ghadhban, Central Bank Governor Sinan al-Shibibi and Council of Representatives Finance Committee Chairman Haider al-Abadi.

Wolin’s visit reinforced the U.S. commitment to a lasting relationship with a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq and underscored the importance of continuing sound economic policies. His meetings focused on a range of issues, including strategies to help strengthen Iraq’s economic institutions and public financial management; financial sector reforms and efforts to improve the investment climate; and engagement with key international partners including the IMF and World Bank. Deputy Secretary Wolin also discussed the significant threat associated with Iran’s increasing ties to Iraq’s developing financial sector and the need for the development of a sound anti-money-laundering/combating-the-financing-of-terrorism (AML/CFT) regime to protect against illicit financial activity, support Iraq’s integration into international markets and attract foreign investment.

While in Baghdad, the Deputy Secretary co-chaired a meeting of the Economic and Energy Cooperation Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) that was established under the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement to strengthen U.S.-Iraqi bilateral economic and commercial ties.