World Bank backs Iraq’s shift toward program and performance budgeting

The World Bank headquarters in Washington. Photo: Lauren Burke/AP Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – The World Bank reaffirmed its institutional support on Monday, November 9, 2026, for the Iraqi Ministry of Finance’s ongoing modernization agenda, focusing on technical requirements to transition Iraq’s fiscal planning toward a program- and performance-based budgeting framework. According to a Ministry of Finance statement reported by the Iraqi News Agency (INA), Senior Undersecretary Abdul-Hasan Jamal convened an extensive technical working session with a World Bank mission. The deliberations were attended by the directors general of the Public Debt and Information Technology departments, alongside the ministry’s dedicated project implementation task force, to evaluate core prerequisites and execution roadmaps for the budgeting shift. Jamal emphasized the necessity of finalizing statutory and regulatory frameworks, conducting rigorous cost-benefit assessments, and clearly designating spending units across line ministries. He noted that moving away from conventional line-item budgeting to performance-driven fiscal management aligns directly with broader economic and administrative reform programs, ensuring cohesive institutional alignment among spending entities. For its part, the World Bank delegation reiterated its commitment to supporting public financial management (PFM) reforms across Iraq, underlining that digitizing accounting frameworks and automating treasury workflows remain essential catalysts for curbing fiscal leakage, improving capital allocation, and enhancing aggregate expenditure efficiency.