Al-Rafidain Center for Dialogue RCD Organizes a Seminar on the Exchange Rate of the Iraqi Dinar
The seminar began with a speech by Dr. Hassan Latif Al-Zubaidi, Executive Director of RCD, in which he said, "We hope that your contributions will illuminate various aspects of the potential effects of reevaluating the dinar exchange rate economically, financially and commercially." After that, a group of research papers was presented to each of the professors:
1- Dr. Ammar Hamad Khalaf Al-Ithawi, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq for Technical Affairs
2- Dr. Sawsan Karim Al-Jubouri, Dean of the College of Administration and Economics, Al-Qadisiyah University
3- Dr. Abdul-Hussein Jalil Al-Ghalbi, College of Administration and Economics, University of Kufa
4- Dr. Samir Fakhri Nehme, Dean of the College of Administration and Economics, Nowruz University, Dohuk
5- Dr. Ahmed Hussein Battal Al-Ani, College of Administration and Economics, University of Anbar
Dr. Al-Ithawi touched on the strategic implications of reevaluating the exchange rate through three axes: in the first axis, he explained the justifications for changing the exchange rate, and in the second, the expected positive effects of changing the exchange rate on the economy, represented by an increase in foreign reserves with the Central Bank. In the third axis, he discussed the requirements to enhance the gains from changing the exchange rate, which is the necessity for other ministries to exercise their natural role in implementing the recommendations of the White Paper, such as providing appropriate support for the agricultural and industrial sector and controlling border crossings. After that, Dr. Sawsan Al-Jubouri discussed the exchange rate, its mechanisms and systems, and how it is determined. Then discussed the developments of the Iraqi dinar exchange rate and the effects of its changes.
As for Dr. Al-Ghalbi, he discussed the commercial implications of reevaluating the exchange rate of the Iraqi dinar. He said that Iraqi trade was characterized by the concentration of exports on a particular commodity, which is oil. After him, Dr. Fakhri touched on the financial implications of reevaluating the Iraqi dinar exchange rate and focused on that the Iraqi economy faced, after the Covid-19 pandemic, two types of imbalances, external and internal, and a severe and continuous deterioration in the current account to the gross domestic product, reaching a maximum deficit of about 20 percent.
As for Dr. Ahmed Battal, he investigated the social effects of reevaluating the Iraqi dinar exchange rate. He summarized this about inflation rates with expected unemployment rates. The economic expert Dr. Kamel Allawi Kazem moderated the seminar, which was marked by a very wide presence from various disciplines, including political, scientific and societal.