Dozens of demonstrators took to the streets of Iraq’s capital Baghdad on Wednesday to protest the devaluation of the dinar against the U.S. dollar and to call on the Iraqi government to intervene urgently to prevent an even greater economic crisis in the country.
The demonstrators, who came from different governorates in the center and south, protested with flags and banners in front of the Central Bank of Iraq, heavily guarded by security forces, according to the INA news agency.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al Sudani dismissed on Monday the governor of the Central Bank, Ali Mohsen al Alaq, and appointed in his place Mustafa Majaif to head the institution after issuing a series of measures in an attempt to stabilize the exchange rate between the dinar and the dollar.
Al Sudani also appointed Bilal al Hamdani as the new head of the Commercial Bank of Iraq after ordering the early retirement of Salem Jauad al Chalabi. Al Sudani promised since his arrival to power to stabilize the country’s economic situation.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Husein said last week in statements to the Kurdish TV channel Rudaw that an Iraqi delegation will visit the United States in February to discuss the fluctuations in the exchange rate with the dollar.
The Central Bank of Iraq announced in December 2020 a devaluation of the currency to face the liquidity crisis, although the depreciation of the dinar was a setback for the population, which faced a rise in prices and an increase in the standard of living.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
