BAGHDAD RESPONSE TO STATE 2885: IRAQ'S BUDGET IS

UNCLAS BAGHDAD 001291 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ECON PREL SUBJECT: BAGHDAD RESPONSE TO STATE 2885: IRAQ'S BUDGET IS TRANSPARENT REF: STATE 28885 ¶1. Iraq benefits from USG foreign-assistance funding. The GOI's budget is a matter of public record. Budget lines for individual ministries and revenue estimates are debated openly in the national legislature. The final budget is available to the public when it is printed in the official GOI gazette following approval by the presidency council. Some of the information in the budget is made available to the public through GOI websites. There are plans to further improve budget transparency via the Internet in 2009. ¶2. USG technical advisors are continuously engaged with Iraqi officials who manage fiscal affairs. In the course of this technical-assistance relationship, the GOI Ministry of Finance routinely shares detailed data on expenditures and revenue. These data are reconciled with information received from other sources, thereby reinforcing the high degree of transparency and the validity of fiscal data in Iraq. BUTENIS