Following months of struggle between the Iraqi government and the parliament, the latter approved Nov. 12 the deficit law that allows Iraq to borrow 12 trillion dinars ($10 billion), which would only provide Iraq with three months to pay the salaries of public servants.

The Iraqi government at the same time is looking for other sources of money.

Finance Minister Ali Allawi said Nov. 4 that the newly established international financial alliance would help Iraq retrieve $150 billion in funds stolen from the country since 2003, adding that the money is deposited in foreign and Arab banks and that the alliance would provide the technology and expertise to support the economy.

While Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and a number of ministers were visiting London, an international financial alliance dubbed the Iraq Economic Contact Group was established Oct. 22. It consists of the G-7 countries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Iraqi Finance Ministry, the Central Bank of Iraq and the Finance Committee.