Mohsin Khan, IMF director of the Middle East and Central Asia, said there had been progress and setbacks in implementing banking, budget and tax collection reforms. The IMF provided Iraq with $436 million in post-conflict aid in September to help the country's transition to a market economy, but economic rebuilding has been affected by months of violence by insurgents opposed to US-led forces in Iraq.
Political deadlock has also held up the formation of a new Iraq government since the country's January 30 elections. "Iraq continues to suffer from shortages of fuel, gasoline, and electricity - which, in turn, give rise to inflation," Khan told the internal publication IMF Survey in an interview.
