During the meeting, Kadhimi stressed that “the government is ready to overcome all obstacles facing the work of the International Monetary Fund in Iraq,” the prime minister’s media office said in a readout posed on Facebook.

A former journalist who has long written about the challenges facing the country he now leads, Kadhimi raised the possibility of working with the IMF to help Iraq diversify its economy away from its dependence on oil extraction.

According to the readout, Georgieva commended the initial steps taken by Kadhimi on the reform issue, despite challenges related to the coronavirus pandemic and the decline in the price of oil.

“Georgieva confirmed that [the IMF] believes in partnership with Iraq and the importance of standing with it,” the statement added.

Iraq last received aid from the IMF in 2016 and again faces the prospect of needing help from the global financial organization due to the collapse of oil prices, which has left it with a significant budget shortfall.

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