policy
Financial authorities are moving toward amending the official currency rate, as data from the draft federal budget law for 2027 indicates adopting a new exchange rate of 1,500 dinars per US dollar, equivalent to 150,000 dinars per 100 dollars, while the draft has not yet been officially submitted to parliament. According to preliminary estimates within the project, the total proposed budget stands at approximately 218 trillion dinars, valued at nearly 145 billion dollars based on the new exchange rate, compared to roughly 166 billion dollars if calculated using the previous official rate of 1,320 dinars per dollar. Regarding regional allocations, the Kurdistan Region's share was set at 12.67%; however, the actual funding reaching the region will amount to about 13 trillion dinars after deducting sovereign expenditures from the overall budget. This allocation is lower than the region’s share in the 2023 budget, likely bringing financial entitlements between Baghdad and Erbil back to the forefront of negotiations. Amid these developments, an official delegation representing the Kurdistan Regional Government is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad next Wednesday for discussions regarding the budget draft and unresolved financial issues. Concurrently, the parliamentary Finance Committee intends to host the Minister of Finance to examine the proposed amendments and budgetary clauses thoroughly before the bill is officially presented to parliament.
